About the seroMARK-VR project<\/h2>\n
The <\/span>seroMARK Vaccine Response (seroMARK-VR) <\/b>project is a research study aiming to determine the immune response to COVID-19 vaccines amongst the Black Canadian population (African, Caribbean, North American) in comparison to other ethnic groups. Vaccine responses will be determined by measuring the immune response and presence of adverse events following <\/span>vaccination<\/span><\/i>. The project seeks to answer the following questions:<\/span><\/p>\n A vaccine response refers to the reaction of your immune system following vaccination. The\u00a0production of antibodies and immune cells called T cells are common features of a vaccine response and will be measured. These tests provide information on how someone has responded to the COVID-19 vaccines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Antibodies are substances that the body makes to protect people from infections like that caused by the virus responsible for COVID-19. <\/span><\/p>\n T cell responses can indicate how prepared the immune system is to fight off future infection with the COVID-19 virus. When an antibody test is positive, this indicates that there may have been previous vaccination or exposure to the COVID-19 virus and your body has built some protection against COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Anyone who identifies as being of Black Canadian ethnicity <\/span><\/p>\n Anyone who does not identify as Black Canadian can take part in the study in the comparison\/control group <\/span><\/p>\n Anyone eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine based on the most updated eligibility criteria in your province <\/span><\/p>\n Anyone planning to be or has already been vaccinated against COVID-19 <\/span><\/p>\n Anyone who is not currently sick from a COVID-19 infection and who resides in Ontario <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> What will happen in this study?<\/p><\/h2><\/div> During the study, you will have a minimum of one study visit, with additional visits following each vaccination dose over the duration of the study.<\/p>\n A member of The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) team will visit you in the community close to where you live or will participate in a virtual visit with you from your area of residence. The first visit will include a blood test and a brief questionnaire.<\/p>\n Once your blood sample is drawn, we will take the blood sample to SickKids or to another approved facility as appropriate for testing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
What is a vaccine response?<\/h2><\/div>
Who can participate in this study?<\/h2><\/div>
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Where will the visits take place?<\/h2><\/div>