Public Health Ontario (PHO) Rounds

Blood donor surveillance: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and beyond

When
Where
Virtual

Event details

This presentation is part of Public Health Ontario (PHO) Rounds and intended for medical professionals involved in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, planning and evaluating SARS-CoV-2 interventions including vaccination, public health physicians and nurses, epidemiologists, and researchers.

Since the start of the pandemic, Canadian Blood Services has carried out a SARS-CoV-2 monthly seroprevalence study. It has collected over 800,000 samples from all provinces except Quebec (350,000 from Ontario) which were tested for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (infection antibodies) and spike protein (vaccine or infection antibodies). It is the largest Canadian SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study. In this Rounds presentation, the suitability of blood donors for public health surveillance will be described, Ontario SARS-CoV-2 sero-surveillance data will be presented, and the potential for blood donors to contribute to future public health research and surveillance will be discussed. The SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study was supported by funding from the Government of Canada through the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force.

Presented by

Dr. Sheila O’Brien
Associate director of epidemiology and surveillance, Canadian Blood Services
Ottawa

Learning objectives

  1. Explain the similarities and differences between blood donors and the general population in Canada.
  2. Describe key findings from the Canadian Blood Services SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study.
  3. Discuss the role that blood donors can play in public health surveillance post-pandemic.

Registration

Additional details about the event, including an online registration form, are available on the Public Health Ontario website: PHO Rounds: Blood Donor Surveillance: SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and beyond | Public Health Ontario

Public Health Ontario Rounds are a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). In order to receive written documentation for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, please check “Yes” beside the question “Do you require CME credits?” on the registration form.