COVID-19 Immunity Task Force

The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) is one of the Government of Canada's early efforts to track the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.^[1] An external, dedicated secretariat was established in order to maximize the efficiency of the CITF's work.^[2]

Purpose

The CITF was to use a serology "to survey representative samples of the population for the presence of antibodies to the virus".^[3] Trudeau's press release on 23 April 2020, on the initiation of the CCITF listed several goals it would help to achieve notably that it would:^[2]

establish priorities and oversee the coordination of a series of country-wide blood test surveys that will tell us how widely the virus has spread in Canada and provide reliable estimates of potential immunity and vulnerabilities in Canadian populations.

A Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG) was also established within the CITF to monitor the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines made available in Canada.^[4]

Task Force membership

The CITF Board is composed of doctors, infectious disease experts, and policy makers.^[1][5]

Leadership Group

Executive Committee

• David Naylor, Co-chair
• Catherine Hankins, Co-chair
• Timothy Evans, Executive Director
• Heather Hannah
• Mona Nemer
• Howard Njoo
• Gina Ogilvie
• Jutta Preiksaitis
• Gail Tomblin Murphy
• Paul Van Caeseele

Government of Canada representatives

• Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
• Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor of Canada
• Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister of Health of Canada

Members

The CCITF leadership group expanded on 2 May 2020.^[6] Its additional members as of March 2022 are:

• Carrie Bourassa
• Vivek Goel
• Philippe Gros
• Scott Halperin
• Charu Kaushic
• James D. Kellner
• Susan Kirkland
• Gary Kobinger
• Mel Krajden
• Christie Lutsiak
• Richard Massé
• Allison McGeer
• Deborah Money
• Kevin Orrell
• Jutta Preiksaitis
• Caroline Quach-Thanh (former)
• James Talbot (former)

Provincial & Territorial representatives

• Shelly Bolotin, Ontario
• Marguerite Cameron, Prince Edward Island
• Catherine Elliott, Yukon
• Richard Garceau, New Brunswick
• Heather Hannah, Northwest Territories
• Mel Krajden, British Columbia
• Christie Lutsiak, Alberta
• Richard Massé, Quebec
• Jessica Minion, Saskatchewan
• Michael Patterson, Nunavut
• Gail Tomblin Murphy, Nova Scotia
• Paul Van Caeseele, Manitoba

References

1. Zimonjic, Peter; Kapelos, Vassy (23 April 2020). "WHO set pandemic response back by 2-3 weeks, says doctor on new federal task force". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24.
2. "Prime Minister announces new support for COVID-19 medical research and vaccine development". Office of the Prime Minister of Canada. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020.
3. "Canada launches serological testing initiative to help manage COVID-19". McGill University. 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020.
4. "Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG)". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
5. Labonne, Simon. "Leadership Group". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
6. Naylor, David (May 2, 2020). "@CDavidNaylor on X: '🇨🇦 COVID-19 Immunity Task Force leadership group. Privileged to work with these talented & dedicated 🇨🇦 experts. See list below.'". X. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020.

External links

• Covid-19 Test Kits