Canadian Science Policy Centre Virtual Sessions | Interview with Dr. Rob Annan. This interview focuses on the contribution of genomics in controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2

 

 

Genome Alberta is here to help you stay informed with reliable COVID-19 information, links, and news. This page is updated regularly. You should also visit our COVID blog pages for more in-depth stories about COVID research.

Latest update: June 3^rd, 2020.

 

​

Canadian researchers are among the many scientists around the world finding ways to meet the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. We can't introduce you to all the projects underway but here is a small sample of the Canadian efforts.

 

Check back a couple of times a week as we will be posting new insights into COVID-19 research taking place in Canada.

 

 

News you can trust because we have checked it for you first. The facts and figures around the pandemic change rapidly so we will be updating this section regularly. Here are some headlines for June 3^rd:

 

• Vancouver ICUs Have Very Strong COVID-19 Outcomes. And More Science Journal News. Freelance science writer Brian Owens rounds up science journal news for The Tyee.
• Coronavirus vaccine not the end-all-be-all. We must have a plan for reopening without one. Most experts agree that a vaccine against COVID-19 is going to take time. We need a Plan B while we wait.
• Listen: Understanding a Disease – COVID-19 and Genomics Canada. Genome Canada's Rob Annan and Bettina Hamelin from Ontario Genomics join the public policy forum podcast.
• University of Waterloo researchers using social media to predict disease outbreaks. The technique has been used before to get insight into flu season, now researchers are taking it a step further for COVID-19.
• Bracing for bird flu. Relax, there is not another pandemic on the way. This 2005 article in Maclean's might help you understand why the information you hear today seems conflicting. It takes time to collect the research, analyze it, refine it, and draw conclusions. We don't always get it right the first time and for those of you who remember 2005, the pandemic never hit us here in Canada. 

• Doctors find their voices to combat “infodemic” of fake news. Doctors fare well in trust indexes and opinion polls. We need their voices now more than ever.
• Scientists alarmed as Trump embraces fringe views and extreme theories amid pandemic. The current U.S. administration started off a lukewarm to science and has been cooling off ever since.
• Watch: Science journalism in the spotlight. Good science journalism helps to deal with the misinformation pandemic. 10-minute segment from The Listening Post on Al Jazeera.
• Watch: Ask an Expert with Health law director Tim Caulfield talking about COVID-19 misinformation. A 42-minute online Q & A.
• ‘You could see the train wreck coming’: Inexperienced, dubious companies among many aiming to cash in on coronavirus antibody tests. Scary times are good times for preying on the public.

• Using Hand Sanitizers Safely During the COVID-19 pandemic. It may not look like a long article, but what you are after is the downloadable. Print it and keep it hand for your family!
• COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning tool. Researchers from Georgia Tech, Stanford University, and the Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory have developed this online dashboard to help individuals make informed decisions about risk.
• COVID-19 Therapeutic Development Tracker. U.S. based Biotechnology Innovation Organization has a new interactive COVID-19 treatment and vaccine tracker. Updated every Monday.
• COVID-19 Interactive Dashboard. Johns Hopkins University has created a breakdown of the numbers by country and region, confirmed cases, deaths, active cases, etc. Updated daily.
• Coronavirus Map: Tracking the Global Outbreak. A good roundup of information from the New York Times. Updated daily.

 

 

​

​

​

​

 

​

 

​