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  • February 26, 2021
    Sensing robot healthcare helpers being developed at SFU
  • February 25, 2021
    Fentanyl exposure awareness study highlights support gap for those most at risk of overdose
    Current overdose prevention efforts aren’t enough to support those most at risk of fatal overdose, people who inject drugs alone, according to a new Simon Fraser University-led study published recently.
  • February 24, 2021
    British Columbia should prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for essential workers, SFU experts say
    New research by Simon Fraser University modelling experts is examining the province’s age-related vaccine roll-out plan in light of new data on vaccine performance, and suggesting that a strategy prioritizing essential workers is more effective. In a new pre-print study involving SFU professors Caroline Colijn and Paul Tupper, and led by mathematics PhD student Nicola Mulberry, researchers conclude that strategies that target essential workers earlier not only consistently outperform those that do not but also provide “a significant level of indirect protection” for older adults. The research is based on a series of modelling simulations using age and essential worker data, across five age-related vaccination scenarios. They compared scenarios in which essential workers – described as those who have to have a high number of contacts outside the home as part of their employment – are vaccinated sooner in the program: after those aged 80+, and followed by either the rest of the age-based rollout, or variations (for example all 20- to 79-year-olds). Their modelling finds that vaccinating B.C.’s essential workers sooner, rather than an oldest-first strategy, would prevent more than 200,000 infections and more than 600 deaths, while saving over $500 million in net monetary benefit. The researchers also note that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted essential workers, who often have lower incomes and no option to work from home. “Our findings suggest that prioritizing them for vaccination not only would help to reduce this substantial disparity, but it does not even come at the cost of increased adverse outcomes in others; rather, it is better for everyone.” AVAILABLE SFU EXPERTS CAROLINE COLIJN, Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematics for Evolution, Infection and Public Health | ccolijn@sfu.ca PAUL TUPPER, professor, mathematics | Pft3@sfu.ca NICOLA MULBERRY, PhD candidate, mathematics | nicola_mulberry@sfu.ca CONTACT MATT KIELTYKA, SFU Communications & Marketing 236.880.2187 | matt_kieltyka@sfu.ca Simon Fraser University Communications & Marketing | SFU Media Experts Directory 778.782.3210 ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY As Canada’s engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today’s problems. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities—Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey—SFU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 students. The university now boasts more than 165,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.
  • February 24, 2021
    Astronaut ‘moves’ to help prevent falls among older adults confined to bed rest
  • February 22, 2021
    Salmon scales reveal substantial decline in wild salmon population & diversity

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