COVID-19 boosters help avoid breakthrough infections in immunocompromised people, McGill-led study finds

Published by: McGill University
Published on: March 31, 2025

Researchers focused on those with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

New research findings provide solid evidence that annual COVID-19 vaccine booster doses continue to be advisable for certain immunocompromised people, researchers at McGill University say.

The researchers looked at how often people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) got COVID-19 despite having received at least three doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. IMIDs – including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis – affect more than seven million Canadians. The medications they take often weaken their vaccine responses, increasing their vulnerability to infection.

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vaccines

Made-at-McMaster inhaled COVID-19 vaccine begins phase-2 human trial

Published March 10, 2025

Published by: McMaster University
Published on: March 10, 2025
By Blake Dillon

Researchers at McMaster University have started a phase-2 clinical trial on a next-generation, inhaled COVID-19 vaccine.

The AeroVax study, supported by $8M in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), will test needle-free vaccines developed to provide protection from SARS-CoV-2.

Led by Fiona Smaill and Zhou Xing, members of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR) at McMaster, the multi-centre trial will evaluate the new vaccine in a broad study group, while also confirming safety.

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pandemic response

Scientists, clinicians across Canada preparing for future pandemic threats

Published May 6, 2024

Published by: The Canadian Press
Published on: May 6, 2024
By Nicole Ireland

Nearly $574 million will be doled out to researchers across the country for projects aimed at ramping up Canada’s preparedness for future health emergencies, including the next pandemic, the federal government announced on Monday.

One of the 19 projects is a national network of existing emergency departments and primary-care clinics, called Prepared, that will screen for any new viruses or pathogens that start to appear in patients.

“As a public health specialist and as a practising physician, I would very much anticipate there being another respiratory pandemic in the future. The challenge is we don’t know when it will be or what it will be,” said Dr. Andrew Pinto, Prepared project lead and a family physician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

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research

Does prior omicron infection shield against future infection? Maybe not, new research finds

Published August 21, 2023

Published by: Medical Xpress
Published on: August 21, 2023
By Cara Murez

“This research highlights the need for continued vigilance and underscores the importance of ongoing preventive measures against COVID-19.”

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research

Omicron infection may leave seniors more susceptible to future COVID infections, say McMaster researchers

Published August 21, 2023

Published by: McMaster University / Brighter World
Published on: August 21, 2023

“This research highlights the need for continued vigilance and underscores the importance of ongoing preventive measures against COVID-19.”

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research

Some seniors infected with Omicron variants were more susceptible to reinfection, not less: McMaster study

Published August 21, 2023

Published by: Toronto Star
Published on: August 21, 2023
By Kenyon Wallace

In a sign that scientists still don’t fully understand how some COVID-19 variants manage to evade the immune system, a new Ontario study has found that retirement- and long-term-care home residents infected during the first Omicron wave were 20 times more likely to get reinfected by the virus than those who avoided a prior infection.

The surprising finding by researchers at McMaster University runs counter to the prevailing wisdom that a previous COVID infection affords protection against future infections, at least in the older adults who participated in the study.

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Tag: McMaster University