AB3C Study

Study Summary

Children appear to be at lower risk than adults of getting very sick with COVID-19. But more children than we realize may get infected with very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all and may infect others in their community. The Alberta Childhood COVID-19 Cohort (AB3C) Study is an Alberta-wide study seeking to understand COVID-19 and children to inform potential treatments, vaccines, and public safety decisions such as when and how children should return to school. The purpose of the AB3C study is to determine how many children with and without known COVID-19 infections have made an immune response (blood antibodies) over time and how long the immune response lasts. We will also do more extensive genetic testing and testing of the immune system with some children. Finally we will look at the clinical impact of COVID-19 infections in children across Alberta.

Objectives

1. To measure and describe factors that determined the need for testing, such as contact with known or suspected COVID-19 cases, clinical and demographic features, clinical and laboratory features, management and outcome of COVID-19 disease in both confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases
2. To look at the biology of the virus and the child’s genome, immune and metabolic response to COVID-19 infection
3. To measure antibodies in children with the goal to determine which children with confirmed and probable COVID-19 develop antibodies and whether antibodies develop in children who were ill but did not test positive for COVID-19, and in children who were not known to be ill

Principal Study Investigator: Dr. James D. Kellner

Leading Institution: Alberta Children's Hospital

PERT Site Investigator: Dr. Graham Thompson

PERT Site Research Coordinator: Dr. Beata Mickiewicz

Study Team: Dr. François Bernier, Joslyn Gray, Dr. Stephen Freedman, Dr. Claire Arrieta, Dr. Susanne Benseler, Dr. Byron Berenger, Dr. Jaime Blackwood, Dr. Jason Cabaj, Dr. Eliana Castillo, Dr. Carmen Charlton, Dr. Cora Constantinescu, Dr. Michael Esser, Dr. Kevin Fonseca, Dr. Nils Daniel Forkert, Dr. Marvin Fritzler, Dr. Jia Hu, Dr. Ari Joffe, Dr. David Wyatt Johnson, Dr. C. Adam Kirton, Dr. Susan Kuhn, Dr. Thierry Lacaze, Dr. Piush Mandhane, Dr. Deborah Marshall, Dr. Sheila McDonald, Dr. Luis Murguia-Favela, Dr. Jillian Parboosingh, Dr. Joan Robinson, Dr. Graham Tipples, Dr. Suzanne Tough, Dr. Marinka Twilt, Dr. Otto Vanderkooi, Dr. Tyler Williamson, Dr. Nicola Wright