17.95°C Vancouver

Jun 17, 2020 7:12 PM -

Canada buying 140,000 blood tests to begin immunity testing of COVID-19

Share On
canada-buying-140-000-blood-tests-to-begin-immunity-testing-of-covid-19
A file image of Dr. Theresa Tam/ The Canadian Press

Blood samples collected from tens of thousands of Canadians will soon be tested for signs of COVID-19 antibodies as the federal government seeks to learn how many people have already contracted the novel coronavirus.

Dr. Teresa Tam, chief public health officer for Canada, says Ottawa's immunity task force is collaborating with Canadian Blood Services and Hema-Quebec on the project.

The federal government today announced a contract is now in place with Abbott Laboratories to buy 140,000 serological tests for the project.

The blood tests can detect the presence of the antibody that is produced after a person is infected with the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Health Canada authorized Abbott's serology tests on May 21 but negotiations to buy them for use by the immunity task force have taken several more weeks.

Since COVID-19 testing was limited to specific people in most provinces for months, and because some people can get the virus without showing any symptoms, the immunity tests are needed to get a more accurate number of how many Canadians have already contracted it.

Latest news

CanadaJun 30, 2025

Teen arrested after unprovoked machete attack

A 15-year-old boy in Winnipeg is accused of attacking a 68-year-old man with a machete. Police say the assault on Friday night was random and happened while the man was walking past a Salvation Army on Henry Avenue. He was taken to hospital and police say he will require surgery. They say witnesses detained the boy until police arrived, and that officers recovered two machetes during the arrest.
alberta-judge-grants-injunction-blocking-a-transgender-health-care-bill
AlbertaJun 30, 2025

Alberta judge grants injunction blocking a transgender health-care bill

An Alberta judge has put on hold a provincial law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth. Justice Allison Kuntz, in a written judgment, has issued a temporary injunction against the law, saying it raises serious issues that need to be hashed out in court. Kuntz says a temporary stop to the law is needed to prevent what she calls ``irreparable harm'' coming to young patients while the issue is debated. The law, passed late last year but not fully in effect, would have prevented doctors from providing treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to th
b-c-minister-bowinn-ma-tells-of-frightening-incident-at-her-constituency-office
BCJun 27, 2025

B.C. minister Bowinn Ma tells of 'frightening' incident at her constituency office

British Columbia's Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says there was a "frightening" security incident at her constituency office in North Vancouver early Friday. Ma says in a statement that all meetings and appointments at the office have been cancelled for the day. Her statement says that thankfully, nobody was injured, and she appreciates the concern expressed by community members. Ma doesn't describe the incident and says due to an active police investigation, she won't be able to provide more details about what happened. She says she wants to thank the officers who responded to the inciden
trump-terminating-trade-talks-with-canada-over-digital-tax
WorldJun 27, 2025

Trump 'terminating' trade talks with Canada over digital tax

U-S President Donald Trump says he is immediately ending all trade talks with Canada. The sudden termination is over Canada's plan to go ahead with its digital services tax on big U-S tech companies that do business here. The tax is set to take effect Monday but would be retroactive for the past three years, leaving U-S companies with atwo-billion-dollar U-S bill due at the end of the month. Trump says Washington will notify Canada about new tariff rates within the next week.
surrey-sikh-games-canada-2025-begin-at-tamanawis-park
BCJun 27, 2025

Surrey: Sikh Games Canada 2025 begin at Tamanawis Park

The Sikh Games Canada in Surrey began yesterday, June 26th. During the first days games, some interesting field hockey competition was witnessed in the under-10 category. Although the senior teams had also taken to the field this morning. The event, which started on Thursday, has not only the competition of different categories of field hockey as its main attraction, but also soccer, wrestling, volleyball, Gatka event, cultural performances etc. are also attracting people.Organizers say that this event, which started as a field hockey tournament in 2008, has now become one of the largest multi

Related News