Public health and technology leaders convened in Ottawa at CityAge’s 10th annual Data Effect event last week to discuss data stewardship and sharing as the key to foster innovation and create an integrated public health data ecosystem in Canada.
Chief scientific officer at Ottawa-based Bruyere Research Institute, Kumanan Wilson kicked off the discussion by highlighting the potential of data to advance research and implementation of new health technology.
The development of the mRNA vaccine “in an unbelievably short period of time”, with “basically lines of code” is one such advancement that trailblazed during the pandemic, Wilson explained. The latest Omicron specific versions of the vaccine, for instance, were released prior to phase three trial, and hence needed a new data system to not only test its safety and effectiveness, but also to conduct post-market surveillance with ongoing real world data. Canada, he added, “has the best data” and “can do