U of S Indigenous health researcher joins national COVID-19 immunity project

University of Saskatchewan Indigenous health researcher Carrie Bourassa has been tapped to share her knowledge and expertise as part of a $350-million project to expand testing and modelling for COVID -19 immunity in Canada.

The two-year federal COVID -19 Immunity Task Force, announced April 23, will work to understand the scope of SARS-COV-2 immunity across the country.

Given her history working in Indigenous communities to increase health-care capacity, Bourassa, who is the scientific director of the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health, has been appointed Indigenous engagement lead.

“I am very honoured to serve on this important task force that will provide an unprecedented mapping of SARS-COV-2 immunity nationwide, including immunity levels among Indigenous populations,” Bourassa said. “I look forward to making sure that Indigenous voices are heard and represented.”

Blood tests for SARS-COV-2 antibodies are a key tool for determining how many Canadians have already been infected.

The group brings together provincial and territorial health officers with 15 leaders who have backgrounds in university, hospital and public health work. Widespread

blood testing for immunity will provide a first snapshot of the virus’s prevalence in Canada, especially in groups like health-care workers, the elderly and Indigenous populations.

That information will go toward future immunization strategies when a vaccine becomes available.

Bourassa is also working with Regina community-based health research lab Morning Star Lodge to launch the Protecting Our Home Fires strategy, an effort to inform Indigenous communities about the risks of COVID -19 infection and how to prevent its spread.