Made-in-Canada: A new vaccine and a convoy anniversary

The new year began with a promising start when Global Nexus researchers received more than $8 million from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) for the next stage of human trials on a new inhaled COVID-19 vaccine. 

This made-in-Canada vaccine is just one example of how Global Nexus scientists and scholars are having an impact and deepening our understanding of everything from long covid to antimicrobial resistance and anti-Asian racism. 

But the beginning of the year also marks the first anniversary of another made-in-Canada effort: This time last year, a convoy of vehicles descended upon Ottawa calling for an end to vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions. The 2022 convoy at Parliament Hill is a reminder that pandemic prevention involves a complex interplay between biological and social systems. 

It also affirms the Global Nexus commitment to do science differently. 

We know that making an impact beyond the lab requires scientists to work side-by-side with social scientists and scholars of digital literacy and misinformation. Economists and policymakers, biochemists and clinicians, must work together to ensure that new therapeutics and policies reach Canadians and people around the world. 

It’s been almost three years since the pandemic was declared and this week the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that, while it may be nearing an inflection point, the pandemic remains a global health emergency.  

We know that factors beyond science have complicated a rapid end to the pandemic and lives were lost unnecessarily. A recent study by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), suggests that misinformation contributed to more than 2 million Canadians refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, which cost at least 2,800 lives over nine months. 

So, as we celebrate the funding announcement for the Global Nexus inhaled vaccine, it is also a time to reflect on the first anniversary of the ‘freedom convoy’ and our resolve to do things differently.