In the absence of an effective COVID-19 vaccine, the world is now facing a pandemic. We plan to create a unique high-performance vaccines for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This project will test and deliver candidate COVID-19 vaccines and clinical tools to address this societal need. If these vaccines are successful, they will be produced safely and efficiently and then mass distributed, at a reasonable cost, and with acceptable shelf-life.
Year: 2020
Rapid survey to assess knowledge, attitudes and behaviours around misinformation, personal protection and public health measures for COVID-19 in BC
We plan to conduct a rapid evidence survey to proactively address the “infodemic” in British Columbia related to COVID-19. We will survey 3000 British Columbians to understand their knowledge, attitudes and reported behaviours related to COVID-19 misinformation and communication. The survey participants will reflect the diversity of British Columbians as we proactively seek feedback from Indigenous communities, as well as ethnically Chinese and South East Asian communities. This gives us an opportunity to assess our communication strategies while the crisis is ongoing and provide the right information to the right audiences in the right way at the right time.
Measuring the Impact of Physical Distancing Measures and Creating Paths for Monitoring during the Relaxation Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic
As of April 30, 2020, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused over 3.2 million cases and 230,000 deaths, globally. The SARS-COV-2 virus causes COVID-19 and is spread by close contact. To reduce its spread, physical distancing measures have been implemented in British Columbia (BC). These measures will be relaxed once transmission is low, but this could increase transmission.
This project will establish a system to measure physical distancing behaviours in BC with:
- ongoing surveys to monitor local contact patterns; and
- analysis of mobility data from multiple sources, such as TransLink, traffic data, and mobility indices from Google, Citymapper and Apple. This system will inform education and communication needs and policy decisions related to physical distancing measures in BC.
Evaluation of rapid redesign and resource deployment in Long-Term Care during COVID-19
Half of Canada’s COVID-19 deaths are linked to long-term care (LTC) settings. In BC, 24 LTC settings have had COVID-19 outbreaks. In response to COVID-19, LTC settings have introduced rapid changes to resident care delivery. This study will track outcomes from these rapid changes.
How have these changes affected
- the quality and safety of care delivery and
- staff, residents and their families? Researchers will use a variety of methods, including statistical analyses of administrative and survey data and interviews.
Key stakeholders (leadership, staff, Family and Resident Councils) will be represented on a steering committee who will be involved in all phases of the research. The goal is to produce evidence-based LTC practices and policies for pandemic management as soon as possible.
Study of early Health Outcomes in Neonates Exposed to COVID-19 in British Columbia (SHiNE-BC)
The long-term health challenges and needs of babies born in British Columbia during the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown. Babies can be exposed to the disease by their mother before birth or infected by the virus that causes COVID-19 after birth. The SHiNE-BC project will use information collected provincially to understand the health effects within the first year of life after exposure to COVID-19.
Health outcomes including diagnoses of infections and conditions affecting the lungs, visits to doctors or emergency departments, hospital stays, and prescription medications will be studied and compared among different geographical regions of BC. This vital information helps doctors improve care for these infants and assists decision-makers to address the changing needs within the health system.
Risk and outcomes of COVID-19 patients exposed to immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents in British Columbia. A population-based study.
To be better prepared for the second wave of COVID-19 in BC, we need to understand the risk factors influencing contracting the infection and its outcome in infected people, especially in vulnerable people, such as patients with auto-immune diseases, cancer or those with transplants who are being treated with immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory agents (IIA).
Patients using IIA for their care have raised fears about being at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19 as these medications lower the immune system. Also, they have uncertainties as IIA are being used to treat COVID-19.
In this study, we will assess:
- The risk of COVID-19 infection among individuals who use IIA in BC,
- The risk of serious outcomes among COVID-19 patient who use IIA compared to patients who do not use IIA.
Respiratory outcomes following COVID-19 infection in British Columbia: A prospective patient registry
Thousands of people in BC will be infected with COVID-19. Thankfully most recover, but unfortunately, little is known about lingering problems experienced by survivors and what care they will need. This study will address two key questions: First, what lung problems continue to challenge survivors of COVID-19? Second, what tests are needed to meet the challenges to lung health and quality of life? Given that this is a new disease, it is crucial to develop a registry (a ‘home’ where all medical information is collected and analyzed), alongside a post-COVID clinic, in order to learn with and from patients. This work is important to British Columbians because it is vital in identifying and addressing meaningful research questions that will help patients to get the care they need.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Diagnosis and Outcomes in British Columbia (BC)
Diagnosing cancer early is critical to achieve positive patient outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on cancer diagnosis in BC, suspending screening programs and drastically reducing diagnostic services. The patient and population health impact of a prolonged reduction in these services is unknown. Further, as COVID-19 restrictions ease, the expected demand for these services will exceed the system’s capacity, significantly increasing wait times. It is now critical for BC Cancer to establish priorities for the re-introduction of services to reduce negative impacts of delays. Our research will quantify the impacts of reductions in cancer diagnostic services on patient outcomes and develop effective strategies for re-introduction.
COVID-19 in children and young adults in BC – evaluation of public health measures and epidemiologic support for decision-makers
We do not know how many children and young adults have been infected with COVID-19 because they have milder symptoms and are usually not tested. For most infections children and young adults are important in spreading the infection. We urgently need to find out how much children and young adults have had the COVID-19 virus. The only way to do this is by testing a large number across the population. In this project we will collect saliva and blood from 6,000 people under 25 years and test for the COVID-19 virus and antibodies against the virus. We will send kits for people to collect these samples at home and then mail them to us. We will then know how many children and young adults have been infected, which will help make decisions about physical distancing and school closures.
All-cause and cause-specific mortality and acute morbidity attributable to COVID-19 and medical history associated with severe COVID-19 infection in BC.
Prediction models about the future course of the epidemic rely mainly on the trends in numbers of Covid-19 positive individuals, hospitalizations, and deaths. These estimates may not be accurate, however, due to a limited availability of the Covid-19 testing and its potential inaccuracies. There is an urgent need to evaluate the overall impact of the pandemic regardless of the accuracy of available data. Our research will provide an insight into who is most impacted by the pandemic in BC, including the primary effects and the secondary effects not directly caused by the virus. In addition, we will investigate the association between past medical history and the severity of symptoms among Covid-19 positive individuals. Our results will help to plan the next steps in the preventive efforts.