Check daily for information updates on COVID-19 news

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: May 26^th , 2020.

Research Insights

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.

Just posted: Listen as we learn more about COVID-19 in children. This morning we announced funding for a new University of Calgary led study on the severity of COVID-19 in children. Dr. Bernier tells us about the work and how it will be carried out.
Bats carry all sorts of viruses without ever showing any symptoms. Listen to Karen Mossman talk about "What bats can teach us about the coronavirus".
Fourteen AI research projects join the fight against COVID-19. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Genome Canada, the Max Bell Foundation are just a few of the funders contributing to the COVID-19 Action fund.
U of A researchers flag similarities between COVID-19 deaths and severe rheumatic illnesses. Rheumatologists at the University of Alberta are testing proven rheumatic treatments to see whether they help against the pandemic virus.
Coronavirus halted years of research and Canada needs a strategy to fight back. As the provincial and federal governments provide billions of dollars for studying the pandemic, there is a danger that other much needed research will disappear.

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

Editor's Picks

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 May 26^th

Antibody treatment for COVID-19 ready for clinical trials, says Toronto scientist. Sachdev Sidhu is a researcher at the University of Toronto. He and his colleagues believe they have a therapeutic to help patients fight off COVID-19. The CTV News story includes a video interview and you can also hear the podcast we did with Sachdev earlier on in his research.
Here's what needs to happen before we can all get vaccinated for COVID-19. A reliable vaccine is a long term goal but medical science is what will make it a reality, not simply a political decision.
Listen: Ian Lewis from the University of Calgary gives me a quick primer on virus testing.
Project leader: Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine trial has 50% chance of success. Only a handful of trials are underway to develop a vaccine and none are a sure thing.
WATCH: Virus Hunters Seek To Solve The Mystery Of Coronavirus Origins. A zoonotic disease is one that jumps for animals to people. As we expand into wild habitats, there will be more cases of this kind of spread.

Myths and Misinformation

Savvy social media campaign launches to combat misinformation about COVID-19. "You probably can't whip up cure on your laptop", but a new initiative from Tim Caulfield has some tips on curing misinformation.
What we can learn from conspiracy theories. Ill-informed or fraudulent explanation date back will into our recorded history. This long read from BBC has some good context for you.
COVID-19 Is a Perfect Storm for Vaccine Skepticism. The Atlantic produces some excellent science writing. This one from Sarah Zhang.
Disinformation surging online during pandemic, says Microsoft president. Brad Smith says resurgence of bad information is playing on people's fears and uncertainties around COVID 19.

Resources

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.

If you have something in particular you would like to see included on this page, drop us a line at info@GenomeAlberta.ca or on Twitter.

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