August 2, 2022Travel restrictions significantly reduced COVID-19 cases entering Canada — but insufficient to prevent new outbreaksCanada’s restrictions on international travel drastically reduced the number of COVID-19 cases entering the country during the first waves of the pandemic but were insufficient to prevent new outbreaks, according to a new study led by University of British Columbia researchers. The study, published...Learn more
May 30, 2022A province-by-province look at excess deaths in Canada during the pandemicPretend the COVID-19 pandemic never happened. People still would have died across Canada, and the number of deaths would have been somewhat predictable based on data from previous years. Dr. Kimberlyn McGrail Dr. Kimberlyn McGrail, a professor in UBC’s school of population and public health,...Learn more
May 2, 2022Catching COVID-19 during pregnancy increases risk of hospitalization, premature birth: national studyAs Canada faces a sixth wave of COVID-19 infections, researchers at the UBC faculty of medicine are urging people who are pregnant to remain vigilant based on data from Canada’s first national, peer-reviewed study on COVID-19 in pregnancy. The findings, published today in JAMA , show that pregnant...Learn more
April 5, 2022Dr. Pieter Cullis named 2022 Canada Gairdner Award laureateAward recognizes contributions to foundational technologies for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines UBC professor Dr. Pieter Cullis has been named a 2022 Canada Gairdner International Award laureate for his pioneering work developing the lipid nanoparticle delivery technology that enables mRNA therapeutics...Learn more
March 28, 2022New nasal spray treats Delta variant infection in mice, indicating broad spectrum resultsResearchers have shown a new compound delivered in a nasal spray is highly effective in preventing and treating COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant in mice. The researchers, including at UBC, Université de Sherbrooke, and Cornell University, believe this is the first treatment of its kind proven...Learn more
March 28, 2022Microbe-slaying copper applied to UBC buildingsMore than 400 sanitizing copper patches have been added to high-contact areas at UBC as part of a collaboration between Teck Resources and UBC to study the antimicrobial properties of copper. How does it work? When copper physically contacts a pathogen like the virus that causes COVID-19, it...Learn more
March 10, 2022Managing mental health as pandemic restrictions easeAs governments across Canada ease public health restrictions in the wake of an unprecedented Omicron wave, many Canadians feel cautiously optimistic. But adjusting to a new normal with a virus that is still circulating can also spark feelings of fear and anxiety. UBC psychiatry professor Dr. Steven...Learn more
March 1, 2022British Columbians worried pandemic will never end, and climate change is only adding to the fearIf you’re feeling like the pandemic is never-ending, you’re not alone. Sixty-four per cent of British Columbians are worried the COVID-19 pandemic will be around for years to come, with concerns about climate change adding fuel to the fire. The latest results from a national mental health survey...Learn more
February 10, 2022Futuristic coating for hospital fabrics and activewear kills COVID and E. coliUBC researchers have developed an inexpensive, non-toxic coating for almost any fabric that decreases the infectivity of the virus that causes COVID-19 by up to 90 per cent. And in the future, you might be able to spray it on fabric yourself. “When you’re walking into a hospital, you want to know...Learn more
February 9, 2022Your Google symptom searches could improve COVID modellingAdding Google searches for symptoms and other information to COVID forecast models increased their accuracy, recent UBC research has found. What’s Google got to do with it? Researchers led by UBC statistics professor Daniel McDonald (he/him) fed extra COVID-related information into a basic model,...Learn more
