Emerging Topics

In this episode of the PHAC ConfidenceCast, we discuss how vaccine-induced immunity to SARS-CoV-2 has changed since first doses were administered, how variants are impacting vaccine effectiveness, and the role of bivalent vaccines.

Dans cet épisode du balado sur la confiance vaccinale de l’ASPC, nous discutons de l'évolution de l'immunité induite par les vaccins contre le SRAS-CoV-2 depuis l'administration des premières doses, de l'impact des variants sur l'efficacité vaccinale et du rôle des vaccins bivalents.

In this episode of Emerging Topics, Dr. Krishana Sankar discusses the role of misinformation in vaccine hesitancy, and how ScienceUpFirst is working to provide scientifically correct information in creative ways, to stop the spread of misinformation and improve vaccine confidence.

In this episode of Emerging Topics, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis discusses what vaccine co-administration is, when it is appropriate to co-administer vaccines, and how to speak with patients about co-administration. 

In this episode of Emerging Topics, Lydia Greene and Heather Simpson, the co-founders of the blog, Back to the Vax: A Guide to Inoculating Yourself Against Anti-Vax Propaganda, tell us about their journey from being former anti-vax mothers to finding their way back to evidence-based medicine and becoming vaccine advocates.

Heather Simpson is a mom, an activist, a podcaster, and a freelance writer. When she’s not chasing her three year old daughter, she frequents coffee shops and loves long walks down the aisles at Target.

Lydia Greene is a married mom of three, living in the Canadian Rockies. When not parenting, writing, or podcasting, she is studying to become a public health nurse to fight hesitancy on the frontlines. In her spare time, she nerds out on PC gaming, D&D, and enjoys walks in the fresh mountain air.

In this episode of Emerging Topics, Ajit Johal, the Director Of Clinical Services at Immunize.io, tells us how his BC non-profit organization is providing education and increasing access to vaccines, including non-publicly funded vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines in order to improve immunizations rates in the community and around the world. 

Ajit has been providing immunizations and clinical education since 2012. As a community pharmacist, he is an accessible provider of immunizations to patients in the community. In 2018, he started an organization called Immunize.io, with a mission statement of "taking our best shot at immunizing the world". Through "immunize.io" he has worked with numerous organizations and communities to address “vaccine hesitancy” and improve access to vaccinations.  Ajit is also a clinical instructor for the University of British Columbia in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Program. At UBC, he coordinates the elective course for UBC Pharmacy students in the area of travel health and immunizations.

The published article, Science gave us excellent vaccines. Why bend the rules? in The Globe and Mail addresses the challenges in altering the recommended two-dose schedule for the two Canadian approved mRNA vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. In this episode of Emerging Topics, we speak to one of the authors, Dr. Alan Bernstein to tell us more about these challenges and what considerations should be taken on whether or not to delay the second-dose.

Dr. Alan Bernstein is the President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), which is a Canadian-based, global research organization. He is one of Canada's foremost scientists with several decades of work in research leadership. A graduate from the University of Toronto, he received the James Loudon Gold Medal in Physics, and completed his PhD research with James Till. After roles at the Ontario Cancer Institute and Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Dr. Bernstein was asked to become the founding President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, where he led the transformation of health research in Canada, creating Canada’s first health research institutes. He was also an early champion of women in science and young scientists. In 2010, Dr. Bernstein became Executive Director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise in New York, where he led an international alliance of organizations funding HIV vaccine research. Author of over 225 scientific publications, Dr. Bernstein has made landmark contributions to the study of stem cells, blood cell formation (hematopoiesis) and cancer. He chairs or is a member of advisory and review boards in Canada, the U.S., U.K., Italy and Australia. He serves as co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Stand Up 2 Cancer Canada AND is a member of both the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science and Policy Group, and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In May 2020, Dr. Bernstein was appointed to Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. His contributions to science and science policy have been recognized with numerous awards and honorary degrees, including Officer of the Order of Canada, Order of Ontario, the McLaughlin Medal from the Royal Society of Canada, the Award of Excellence from the Genetics Society of Canada, the Gairdner Foundation Wightman Award, induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and the 2017 Henry Friesen International Prize in Health Research.

In this episode of Emerging Topics, Ian Roe, co-founder of Kids Boost Immunity (KBI), discusses how the website provides teachers and health professionals with lessons on immunization and communicable diseases to engage students in grades 4 to 12.  He also explains how KBI can be used to help address misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ian Roe is the Director for Operations and Development for Kids Boost Immunity (KBI) and I Boost Immunity (IBI), which are two World Health Organization accredited digital education platforms designed to raise vaccine literacy and support global health through UNICEF. As co-chair of BC’s Immunization Promotions Working Group, Ian is also responsible for managing British Columbia’s public immunization website - ImmunizeBC.ca. Ian has more than 20 years of experience working in audio and video production, communications, social marketing, web management and immunization promotion. He currently works at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) in Vancouver.

In this episode of Emerging Topics, Dr. Trevor Arnason from Ottawa Public Health discusses how the Children’s Immunization Clinic was created and implemented in the beginning weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dr. Trevor Arnason did an undergraduate in Biology at the University of Ottawa, an MD at the University of Toronto, and a combined residency in Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa. In 2016, he moved to the east coast to be the Regional Medical Officer of Health for Halifax and engaged in a futile attempt to become a world-class surfer and seafood-lover. While in Halifax, he co-led responses to multiple vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks including one of the largest measles outbreaks in Canada in recent years. In January 2019, he returned to his hometown to work as an Associate Medical Officer of Health with Ottawa Public Health where he holds the immunization portfolio. He also works part-time as a family doctor in an urgent care clinic.

In this episode of Emerging Topics, Dr. Vinita Dubey describes how to respond to media when communicating about vaccines.   

Dr. Vinita Dubey works as an Associate Medical Officer of Health for Toronto Public Health specializing with the Vaccine Preventable Disease program. She also works as an emergency medicine physician outside the GTA and is a member of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. She holds an Adjunct Professor appointment with the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health.