PHO Rounds: Is Antibody Out There?

Serosurveys for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) aim to estimate the proportion of the population that has been infected by and developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at various points in time. In this presentation, we will outline the key findings of the Ontario COVID-19 serosurveys performed by Public Health Ontario (PHO) and discuss the interpretation of our results, as well as the implications of the findings on the pandemic response.

Intended audience:

Public health physicians, nurses and epidemiologists, medical residents, microbiologists, scientists, academic researchers, laboratory staff, policy and decision-makers.

The objectives of the webinar are to:

1. Explain the purpose of seroprevalence studies
2. Summarize the advantages and drawbacks of various serosurvey methodologies
3. Describe COVID-19 seroprevalence trends in Ontario over time

About the presenters: Vanessa Tran and Shelly Bolotin

Vanessa Tran is a Clinical Microbiologist at Public Health Ontario’s laboratory, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Her clinical portforlio includes HIV, Hepatitis Viruses, and Education. She is supporting the COVID-19 laboratory response and is the lead for COVID-19 serology testing at PHO.

Shelly Bolotin is a scientist in Health Protection at PHO, and an Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her research program focuses on measuring population immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases. She is the COVID-19 serosurveillance lead at PHO.

Please note that you will receive details on how to join the webinar after registering for this event.

PHO Rounds are approved for continuing medical education from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. PHO Grand Rounds are also approved by Council of Professional Experience for professional development hours (PDHs) for members of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI). For more information, contact events@oahpp.ca .

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If you have submissions, or questions or comments about the items above, send them to events@oahpp.ca.

Public Health Ontario is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact 647-260-7100 or events@oahpp.ca .