Government of Canada invests $1M in a COVID-19 evidence network to support decision-making

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On Jan 13, 2021

Ontario : The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve throughout the country, with more than 618,000 reported cases as of January 5, 2021. While the arrival of vaccines brings hope for Canadians, there are still critical knowledge gaps we must fill to further support ongoing decision-making as we respond to this virus to keep Canadians safe.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada has relied on rapidly evolving science and evidence to inform our response. To ensure decision-makers have access to the best COVID-19 science in a timely manner, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, announced an investment of $1 million to support the COVID-19 Evidence Network. The Network will bring together experts to collaborate and rapidly synthesize the best available evidence across the full breadth of Canada’s COVID-19 pandemic response. By providing timely access to the latest research on public health measures, clinical management, health-system arrangements, and economic and social impacts, policy-makers will better understand the impact that these measures have on Canadians’ health and safety.

Led by Dr. John Lavis from McMaster University, the COVID-19 Evidence Network will work with Canadian and international partners to better develop and coordinate groundbreaking research on COVID-19, while reducing the duplication of efforts so our experts can focus on the latest research and developments to keep Canadians safe. Dr. Lavis’s co-leads for the Network include Jeremy Grimshaw from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Andrea Tricco of the SPOR Evidence Alliance, which is based at St. Michael’s Hospital of Unity Health Toronto, and Nancy Santesso of Cochrane Canada, based at McMaster University.

The Government of Canada is supporting the COVID-19 Evidence Network through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research so they may provide the latest evidence to decision-makers at the federal, provincial, and territorial levels.