Ottawa-based app could play role in monitoring COVID-19 vaccine safety
Posted Nov 17, 2020 04:11:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An Ottawa-based app is being tested as part of this season's flu shot campaign, with the hope that it could be useful when tracking the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.
CANImmunize was launched by researchers at The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa in 2011, and became a startup company in 2019.
Researchers have started a project, allowing for Canadians to report vaccine-related adverse effects, using CANImmunize or a traditional online survey.
The study is a partnership with the Canadian Immunization Research Network’s Canadian National Vaccine Safety Network (CANVAS). It is funded by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and The Ottawa Hospital Academic Medical Association (TOHAMO). CANImmunize is providing in-kind support.
“A COVID-19 vaccine may be on the way. Tracking the safety of the vaccine will be an important part of the roll-out,” said Dr. Kumanan Wilson, founder of CANImmunize, senior physician scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa. “CANImmunize working with CANVAS could provide a unique digital solution to help monitor the safety of a new vaccine.”
The research team includes Katherine Atkinson, Dr. Julie Bettinger, Dr. Dean Fergusson, Dr. Alan Forster, Dr. Doug Manuel, Dr. Anne McCarthy and Dr. Wilson.
