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]
Task Force membership
The CITF Board is composed of doctors, infectious disease experts, and policy makers.[1][3]
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.[4] 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
 
Purpose and goals
The CITF was to use a serology "to survey representative samples of the population for the presence of antibodies to the virus".[5] 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.[6]
References
- 1 2 "WHO set pandemic response back by 2-3 weeks, says doctor on new federal task force". CBC. 23 April 2020.
 - 1 2 "Prime Minister announces new support for COVID-19 medical research and vaccine development". Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. 23 April 2020.
 - ↑ Labonne, Simon. "Leadership Group". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
 - ↑ Letterhead of CCITF: List of Members - CCITF Leadership Group (Tweet photo from C. David Naylor)
 - ↑ "Canada launches serological testing initiative to help manage COVID-19". McGill University Institutional Communications. 23 April 2020.
 - ↑ "Vaccine Surveillance Reference Group (VSRG)". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
 
External links
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | |||||||
| Locations | 
  | ||||||
| Government response  | 
  | ||||||
| Outbreak sites | |||||||
| Vaccination | |||||||
| Public health officers  | |||||||
| Culture | |||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||