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# COVID-19 Immunity Task Force
- URL: https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/covid-19-immunity-task-force/
- Published: 1999-01-02T14:27:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-20T02:21:14.000Z
- Author: Liam Sturgess
- Tags: Profiles, #docs, #organization, COVID-19, Organization
The **COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF)** is a Canadian initiative intended to organize resources to study natural and vaccine-induced immunity to SARS-CoV-2.
The group is jointly funded by the [Canadian Institutes of Health Research](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Canadian-Institutes-of-Health-Research) (CIHR) and the [Public Health Agency of Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Agency-of-Canada) (PHAC).[\[1\]](#fn1)
## History
CITF was launched in April 2020 by the [Government of Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Government-of-Canada).[\[2\]](#fn2) On July 13, 2021, the government announced an additional $800,000 in funding through CITF and its [Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Vaccine-Surveillance-Reference-Group) (VSRG) "to study best approaches to possible [adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Adverse-events-associated-with-COVID-19-vaccines)". The funds were paid to the [Canadian Immunization Research Network](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Canadian-Immunization-Research-Network) (CIRN).[\[3\]](#fn3)
## Organization
The task force is made up of several task forces and working groups, including the Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG).[\[4\]](#fn4)
The secretariat for the task force is housed at the McGill School of Population and Global Health.[\[2:1\]](#fn2)
### Team
| Name | Position | Affiliation | Notes |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| David Naylor | Co-chair | University of Toronto | \- |
| Catherine Hawkins | Co-chair | McGill University | \- |
| [Timothy Evans](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Timothy-Evans) | Executive Director | McGill University | \- |
| Heather Hannah | Executive Committee | \- | Northwest Territories |
| Mona Nemer | Executive Committee, Government of Canada representative | Office of the Chief Science Advisor | \- |
| Howard Njoo | Executive Committee | [Public Health Agency of Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Agency-of-Canada) | Deputy Chief Public Health Officer and Interim Vice-President, Infectious Disease Programs Branch |
| Gina Ogilvie | Executive Committee, Leadership Team | University of British Columbia, [British Columbia Centre for Disease Control](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/British-Columbia-Centre-for-Disease-Control) (BCCDC), Women's Health Research Institute | \- |
| Jutta Preiksaitis | Executive Committee, Leadership Group | University of Alberta | \- |
| Gail Tomblin Murphy | Executive Committee, Leadership Group | Nova Scotia Health Authority | \- |
| Paul van Caeseele | Executive Committee, Leadership Group | Cadham Provincial Laboratory, Manitoba Health, University of Manitoba | \- |
| Theresa Tam | Government of Canada representative | [Public Health Agency of Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Agency-of-Canada) | \- |
| Stephen Lucas | Government of Canada representative | [Health Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Health-Canada) | \- |
| Vivek Goel | Leadership Group | University of Waterloo | \- |
| Philippe Gros | Leadership Group | McGill University | \- |
| Scott Halperin | Leadership Group | Dalhousie University, [Canadian Immunization Research Network](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Canadian-Immunization-Research-Network) (CIRN) | \- |
| [Charu Kaushic](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Charu-Kaushic) | Leadership Group | [Canadian Institutes of Health Research](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Canadian-Institutes-of-Health-Research) (CIHR), McMaster University, [Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Global-Research-Collaboration-for-Infectious-Disease-Preparedness) (GloPID-R) | \- |
| James Kellner | Leadership Group | University of Calgary, [Alberta Health Services](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Alberta-Health-Services) (AHS) | \- |
| Susan Kirkland | Leadership Group | Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health Authority | \- |
| Gary Kobinger | Leadership Group | Laval University | \- |
| Mel Krajden | Leadership Group | University of British Columbia (UBC), [British Columbia Centre for Disease Control](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/British-Columbia-Centre-for-Disease-Control) (BCCDC) | \- |
| Christie Lutsiak | Leadership Group | [Alberta Ministry of Health](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Alberta-Ministry-of-Health) | \- |
| Richard Massé | Leadership Group | Government of Quebec | \- |
| [Allison McGeer](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Allison-McGeer) | Leadership Group | University of Toronto | \- |
| Deborah Money | Leadership Group | University of British Columbia (UBC), Women's Health Research Institute | \- |
| Shelly Bolotin | Provincial Representative | [Public Health Ontario](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Ontario) (PHO) | Ontario |
| Marguerite Cameron | Provincial Representative | Prince Edward Island Department of Health and Wellness | Prince Edward Island (PEI) |
| Catherine Elliot | Territorial Representative | Government of Yukon | Yukon |
| Richard Garceau | Provincial Representative | Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre | New Brunswick |
| Jessica Minion | Provincial Representative | Saskatchewan Health Authority | Saskatchewan |
| Michael Patterson | Territorial Representative | Government of Nunavut | Nunavut |
| Nathan Stall | Researcher | Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, [CanCOVID](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/CanCOVID), Sinai Health System, Ontario Liberal Party | Received funding from the Task Force for geriatric research.[\[5\]](#fn5) |
## Activities
As of March 23, 2022, the CITF was supporting 112 COVID-19 studies across Canada.[\[6\]](#fn6)
### COVERED study
COVERED is a [COVID-19 vaccine](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/COVID-19-vaccine) registry for pregnant and breastfeeding women across Canada.[\[7\]](#fn7)
It is being run at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in partnership with Canadian Vaccine Safety Network (CANVAS), the [Public Health Agency of Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Agency-of-Canada) and the Women's Health Research Institute.[\[8\]](#fn8) The lead researcher is Deborah Money.
An additional “Immune-Substudy” was launched at the British Columbia Women's Hospital.[\[9\]](#fn9)
### Ontario study
This second study links information collected from [BORN Ontario](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/BORN-Ontario), which collects data from every baby born in Ontario, with the province’s vaccination registry from the Ontario Ministry of Health (COVaxON). [Deshayne Fell](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Deshayne-Fell) is the lead researcher.
### Publications
**CITF Monthly Review**
- [December 2021](https://web.archive.org/web/20240305183847/https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CITF%5FMonthly-report%5FDec-2021%5FEN%5Fmobile.pdf)
- "The rationale for vaccinating 5-11-year-old children"
- "Not all chronic diseases are the same: Antibody responses in people with HIV & chronic kidney disease"
- "The science behind recommending third vaccine doses for older Canadians"
## External links
- [Campfire Wiki](https://www.campfire.wiki/doku.php?id=covid-19%5Fimmunity%5Ftask%5Fforce)
- [Website](https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/)
---
1. Nelson, M. (2020, September 10). *Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force partners with CIHR to support 22 studies investigating COVID-19.* COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. [↩︎](#fnref1)
2. *COVID-19 Immunity Task Force.* McGill University School of Population and Global Health. Retrieved May 18, 2022, from [↩︎](#fnref2) [↩︎](#fnref2:1)
3. Phaneuf, C. (2021, July 13). *Canadian researchers to study best approaches to possible adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination.* COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. [↩︎](#fnref3)
4. *Vaccine surveillance Reference group (VSRG).* COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Retrieved April 28, 2021, from [↩︎](#fnref4)
5. Stall, N. M. (2021, January 29). *Declaration of Interest.* Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. [↩︎](#fnref5)
6. Evans, T. (2022, March 23). *The importance of pediatric vaccination*. COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. [↩︎](#fnref6)
7. Burns, R., Logothetis, P., & Rolfsen, E. (2021, May 19). *Canadian researchers studying effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy.* COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. [↩︎](#fnref7)
8. *Home | Canadian COVID-19 Vaccine Registry for Pregnant and Lactating Individuals.* University of British Columbia. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from [↩︎](#fnref8)
9. *Immune Sub-Study | Canadian COVID-19 Vaccine Registry for Pregnant and Lactating Individuals.* University of British Columbia. Retrieved June 21, 2022, from [↩︎](#fnref9)