The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, is pleased to announce another measure to address the H1N1 flu virus. The Government of Canada will fund a national influenza research network focused on pandemic vaccine evaluation.
The network will strengthen Canada’s capacity to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a pandemic influenza vaccine and vaccination programs.
The network was created through a partnership between the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). It will be led by Dr. Scott Halperin, Director of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology in Halifax. It will link over 80 scientists from 30 research and public health institutions across Canada.
“The development and delivery of an effective influenza vaccine are critical to addressing the H1N1 flu virus, said Minister Aglukkaq. This research network will help ensure that Canadians have a safe vaccine that can be provided quickly.”
The network will provide a pan-Canadian coordinating mechanism for conducting applied public health research that will help governments and the public health community prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic. Network scientists will:
– test methodologies for the performance of rapid clinical trials
– assess the safety and immunogenicity of a novel pandemic influenza vaccine
– provide population-based estimates of vaccine safety and effectiveness
– measure vaccine coverage
– facilitate the rapid implementation of pandemic influenza vaccine programs
“Canada is fortunate to have a strong community of internationally-recognized infectious disease researchers,” says Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR. “Through the leadership of Dr. Bhagirath Singh, Scientific Director of CIHR’s Institute of Infection and Immunity, and in close collaboration with PHAC, CIHR has moved swiftly to mobilize this group of highly dedicated researchers to respond to the current flu outbreak..”
“This flu network speaks to the very core of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s mandate to protect Canadians from the threat of emerging diseases,” says Dr. David Butler Jones, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, “Supporting this initiative in partnership with CIHR gives us all an ideal mechanism to learn more about influenza in Canada and how to improve our responses to current and future outbreaks.”
Source: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canada