Sherbrooke microbiologist to study side effects of COVID vaccines

By Michael Boriero - Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Sherbrooke microbiologist to study side effects of COVID vaccines

Dr. Louis Valiquette, a microbiologist and infectious disease specialist at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS, is leading a team of clinical researchers in Quebec to study the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
“We started the project at the end of the first week of January, so we’re almost one month in and it’s going very well,” said Valiquette during a virtual press conference Friday morning.
Valiquette told media in attendance that the research his team will carry out is similar to a long-running influenza vaccination surveillance project, which began in 2010. According to Valiquette, the goal is to determine whether the vaccines cause any longterm issues.
“It’s always demanded, or suggested, to have a surveillance phase when there’s a new medication or vaccine,” he said. There are two authorized Covid vaccines in circulation in Canada: Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
They also want to identify the most frequent side effects vaccinated Quebecers are experiencing right now, determine the severity of these side effects and ultimately compare them to a control group of non-vaccinated people to understand the symptoms.
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