COVID-19 Infection and Immunity in Residents of Long-term Care Facilities [ C19-IIRLTF, study data contributed to the CITF Databank]

<b>Background:</b> Long-term care facilities had the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in Canada; thus, it was essential to understand the effectiveness of vaccines and the risk factors for outbreaks in the elderly residents of long-term care and retirement homes. <br>

<b>Aims of the CITF-funded study:</b> This study aimed to 1) understand the association between outbreaks and features of long-term care and retirement homes; 2) determine the recurrence rate of outbreaks in homes that have been previously exposed; 3) describe residents’ immune response to infection and vaccination; and 4) estimate vaccine effectiveness in residents. <br>

<b>Methods:</b> This cohort study recruited residents from participating long-term care and retirement home across Ontario through invitations from research coordinators. Study visits occurred at participants’ first dose and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and then 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9, and 12 months post- second dose. For those who got a third dose, follow up was done 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after their third dose. Staff, essential visitors, and resident participants were followed up every week or per visit for saliva surveillance active COVID infection . A DBS whole blood sample was given at enrolment and at each follow up for serology testing. <br>

<b>Contributed dataset contents: </b>The datasets include 1261 participants who completed baseline surveys between January 2021 and July 2023. 90% of participants gave one or more blood samples between April 2021 and April 2023 for analysis. A total of 6078 samples were collected. Variables include data in the following areas of information: demographics (date of birth, sex, race-ethnicity, indigeneity), general health (weight and height, smoking, flu vaccination, chronic conditions), SARS-CoV-2 outcomes (positive test results, hospitalizations), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, and serology (IgA, IgG, and IgM against SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) and spike (S) protein).