McMaster lab becomes national testing centre for vaccine-related clots

A lab at McMaster University in Hamilton has become Canada’s centre for combatting vaccine-related clots.

The McMaster Platelet Immunology Laboratory received a $1.5 million grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada to provide confirmation and reports of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).

McMaster researchers have been testing patient blood samples collected across the country ever since they devised diagnostic testing and treatments for VITT.

The therapy developed by the lab’s scientists is a combination of regular anti-clotting drugs and an intravenous immunoglobulin solution.

“This expansion of world-class rapid laboratory testing here in Canada for suspected Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT) cases will provide expertise to our international partners, and support Canada’s robust vaccine safety surveillance systems,” said federal minister of health Jean-Yves Duclos in a statement. “I commend the McMaster Platelet Immunology Laboratory for their leadership in this area and the contributions they are making to the global fight against COVID-19.”

One of the lab’s scientific directors and associate professor of medicine at McMaster University Ishac Nazy said the federal grant allowed the team to identify, diagnose and treat VITT in a very short time.

“This lab is uniquely positioned as a true translational medical facility; we research disease mechanisms using patient blood samples. This allows us to devise diagnostic testing and new therapies that have already saved patients’ lives,” said Nazy in a statement.

Nazy added that while AstraZeneca vaccines have seen decreased use in Canada, the shots are often still used abroad, and foreign labs are not equipped to diagnose and treat VITT.

The lab is also working with both AstraZeneca Canada Inc. and Johnson & Johnson to improve the safety of their vaccine.