'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
A new study suggests that the time of day a person receives their COVID-19 vaccine could have an impact on the body's immune response.
Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Oxford published their findings in the Journal of Biological Rhythms on Saturday. They looked at the antibody levels in blood samples from 2,190 health-care workers in the U.K. after receiving their first doses of either a Pfizer or an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine between December 2020 and February 2021.
The researchers found that antibody responses were highest among people who were vaccinated between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. when compared to those vaccinated earlier in the day.
“Our observational study provides proof of concept that time of day affects immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, findings that may be relevant for optimizing the vaccine’s efficacy,” said co-senior author Elizabeth Klerman in a news release.
Previous studies looking into other diseases and medications have also shown evidence that the body's circadian rhythm, or biological clock, has an impact on symptom severity.
For example, Klerman points to trials that have shown that some chemotherapy drugs will effectively target cancer cells but limit toxicity to other cells if administered at a specific time of day. A 2008 study looking into the influenza vaccine also found that elderly men who were vaccinated in the morning had higher antibody levels compared to those who were vaccinated in the afternoon.
However, the results of the 2008 flu vaccine study seem to contradict the findings of Klerman's research, which found that vaccinating in the afternoon resulted in higher antibody levels rather than the other way around.
“The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the influenza vaccine have different mechanisms of action from each other, and antibody response may vary greatly depending on whether the immune system recognizes the pathogen from earlier infections, such as influenza, or whether it is confronted by a novel virus,” Klerman explained.
The study isn't without its limitations. The authors noted that they lacked data on the participants' medical and medication history. In addition, the sleep and shift-work patterns of the health-care workers were not taken into account.
Klerman calls her study an important "first step" in demonstrating the importance of time-of-day responses to the COVID-19 vaccines, but says more research needs to be done before she can recommend that people schedule their vaccine for the afternoon to receive an extra boost.
"We need to replicate our findings and develop a better understanding of the underlying physiology of SARS-CoV-2 and the body’s response to vaccination," she said.
Klerman and her team are also looking into how the time of day could affect the vaccine's side-effects.
“If antibody levels are higher when people receive the vaccine in the afternoon, we may see that side-effects are also greater,” said Klerman.
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.