Montreal, February 10, 2021 – As part of a large research project to evaluate the protective effect of vitamin D against COVID-19, CHU Sainte-Justine (CHUSJ) and the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) are seeking healthcare staff who have direct contact with patients or colleagues and who wish to participate in this important work.
The PROTECT (PRevention of COVID-19 with high dose Oral Vitamin D supplemental Therapy in Essential healthCare Teams) study, conducted by Dr. Francine Ducharme (CHUSJ) and Dr. Cécile Tremblay (CHUM), is currently underway and needs you. Researchers from HEC Montréal and McGill University will also be involved in the study.
The aim of this large-scale research study is to evaluate whether vitamin D has a protective effect against COVID-19 infection among 2,414 healthcare workers in the Greater Montreal area who are at risk of contracting COVID-19. In addition, this study will verify whether vitamin D increases the response to the COVID-19 vaccine among those vaccinated during the study.
Easy to participate
The research protocol has been designed to be simple and done in the comfort of your own home using non-invasive tests and innovative technologies.
While authorities expect that the entire population will not be vaccinated for at least several months, the PROTECT study will assess the potential protective effect against the virus of inexpensive and readily available vitamin D.
Healthcare workers in all eligible disciplines who work in a public healthcare institution in Laval, Montreal or Montérégie can visit chum.chusj.org/PROTECT to sign up for the study.
Do it for yourself, do it for them!
Who can participate?
Healthcare workers who:
- are in direct contact with individuals (patients, colleagues, etc.) at risk of COVID-19 infection
- work in a public health institution in Laval, Montreal, Montérégie-Centre or Montérégie-Est
- take little or no vitamin D supplements
- have not received a COVID-19 vaccine (those who receive it after they join the study are eligible)
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About CHU Sainte-Justine
Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre is the largest mother-child hospital in Canada. It is a member of Université de Montréal’s extended excellence-in-health network (RUIS). Sainte-Justine has 5,457 employees, including 1,532 nurses and nursing assistants; 1,000 other healthcare professionals; 520 physicians, dentists and pharmacists; 822 residents and over 204 researchers; 411 volunteers; and 4,416 interns and students in a wide range of disciplines. CHU Sainte-Justine has 484 beds, including 67 at the Centre de réadaptation Marie Enfant (CRME), the only exclusively pediatric rehabilitation centre in Quebec. The World Health Organization has recognized CHU Sainte-Justine as a "health promoting hospital."
About the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)
The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (also known as the University of Montreal Health Centre) is an innovative hospital serving the patients and people of Quebec. CHUM takes an integrated approach to health and population that is expressed in all aspects of its mission: care, teaching, research, management and innovation, as well as in partnership with patients and citizens (SERGIP). To achieve the goal of ongoing health improvement of the population, patient care and life trajectory management has been established by using artificial intelligence to analyze genetic and environmental data. In collaboration with other stakeholders in the health and social services network, CHUM offers the best specialized and subspecialized care-based scientific knowledge that is continuously updated. chumontreal.qc.ca