CHILD Cohort Study awarded $1.7M to study impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian families

CHILD Cohort Study awarded $1.7M to study impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian families

COVID-19 illustrations by CHILD participants

A $1.7 million award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Research Manitoba will allow CHILD Cohort Study (CHILD) researchers to study how individuals and families across Canada have been impacted directly by COVID-19 infection and indirectly by pandemic-related social and economic upheaval.

This one-year project will be led by Dr. Meghan Azad (University of Manitoba), co-lead of the CHILD Manitoba site.

Funding was announced today by the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Health, as part of a $109-million investment by CIHR and provincial partners to mobilize science to fight COVID-19. Research Manitoba contributed $100,000 to the $1.7 million CHILD award.

“Our project will study why some people infected with the virus become seriously ill, while others do not, and will help us identify risk factors for infection,” comments Dr. Azad.

“We will also look at how physical distancing and school and business closures have affected mental health and wellbeing, especially in children. These are urgent questions that must be answered quickly to help control subsequent waves of transmission and minimize the unintended consequences of pandemic management policies.”

Read the press release