Major study gets underway in Montreal to determine how many young people have had COVID-19

Montreal teens and childrenare being sought for apotentially ground-breaking study to determine how widely COVID-19 is spreading among young people and how the pandemic is affectingtheir mental health.

A research team based at the Universit de Montralis looking for youth between the ages of twoand seventeenin the following neighbourhoods to take part:Beaconsfield, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montral-Nord and the Plateau.

The researchers are working with daycares and schools in those neighbourhoodsto find parentsand guardians willing to let their children participate in the study.

In order to collectblood samples from the children, they will distribute afinger-prick test that can be used at home.

The samples will be tested for the presence ofSARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which indicate whether someone has hadCOVID-19.

WATCH | EpidemiologistKate Zinszer explains how the study will work

Finding hidden COVID-19 cases in Montreal's kids

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A research team is collecting blood samples from youth to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, to try and get a more accurate count of how many kids and teens have had COVID-19.

Parents will be informed of the results of the antibody test, but the researcherscaution it is still unclear if antibodies confer immunity to the virus.

"We know children are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and can transmit the infection, but much uncertainty remains," Kate Zinszer, the Universit de Montral epidemiologistleading the study, said in a statement.

"This study will give us a good idea of how many children on the island have previously had COVID-19, which can help inform public health measures."

Participants will also be given a questionnaire, whichwill be used to examine how the pandemic has affected their mental health.

The same group of children will be tested again next spring,to see if they still have COVID-19 antibodies and to assess their mental health toward the end of the school year.

Zinszersaid one hypothesis she will test is whether younger childrenhave had an easier time adapting to public health restrictionsthan older children.

"I'm more worried about the adolescent population, to be honest," she said in an interview on Wednesday.

Backed by public health officials

The study is being funded by a$720,000 grant from the federal government'sCOVID-19 Immunity Task Force, which is researching immunity across the country. This is the first study funded by the task force to focus specifically on youth.

"We need to understand what's been happening with kids and their experiences in the pandemic, like the physical distancing we've been asking them to do,"said Dr. Catherine Hankins, who co-chairs the task force.

The study has the backing of both federal and municipal public health officials.

"The findings ... will help us make decisions on interventions such as school closures," Dr. Mylne Drouin, the head of public health in Montreal, said in statement.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said the resultswill also help decision-makers better understand how social factors, like economic background, influence who is at risk of catching the disease.

"This study in Montreal will help inform decision-making to prevent COVID-19 infection in children and teenagers," she said.

The researchers are hoping to recruit 2,700 childreninto the study and release a first round of results early next year.

A list of participating schools and daycares is available at encorestudy.ca.

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