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:

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. ^ a b 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 July 1, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "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 November 10, 2025. 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.


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