CoVaRR-Net’s Mandate

CoVaRR-Net, or Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network, was a network of interdisciplinary researchers from institutions across Canada created to assist in the federal government’s overall strategy to address the potential threat of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Its mandate was to coordinate, facilitate, support and accelerate rapid response research throughout Canada.

CoVaRR-Net was created with an initial $9 million investment in March 2021 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The CIHR then offered a first funding renewal of $9 million in March 2022 and a second of $6 million in April 2023, as part of the Government of Canada’s Variants of Concern Strategy. The Network was disbanded on March 31, 2025, when funding ended and was not renewed.

CoVaRR-Net’s mission was to rapidly answer critical and immediate questions regarding COVID-19 variants, such as their increased transmissibility, likelihood to cause severe cases of COVID-19, and resistance to vaccines. The findings from the experts in the CoVaRR-Net network (“Network”) and their teams provided decision-makers in Canada with guidance regarding a wide range of important topics relating to COVID-19 variants including (but not limited to) drug therapy, immune protection, vaccine effectiveness, and public health strategies.

A distinctive feature of CoVaRR-Net was its uniquely Canadian identity. Comprised entirely of Canadian researchers, the Network concentrated its efforts on addressing Canada’s specific challenges and needs during the pandemic.

CoVaRR-Net’s funding, infrastructure, and design were intentionally structured to support research on a broad range of pathogens, not just variants of concern. Its achievements have already advanced studies of other pathogens, and the relationships, innovations, and infrastructure it established will continue to drive research beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to note that a large part of the Network’s momentum, engagement, and critical infrastructure are being lost due to discontinued funding. Rebuilding, rehiring, and recovering the lost expertise and infrastructure in the future will require significantly more investment than what would have been needed to maintain continuous operations.

CoVaRR-Net’s mission was to rapidly answer critical and immediate questions regarding COVID-19 variants.

CoVaRR-Net’s Structure

Pandemics have far-reaching impacts on human health, encompassing physical health, mental health, workplace health and safety, and the interconnectedness of human and animal health. As a multidisciplinary research network, CoVaRR-Net was able to address a broad array of topics that no single discipline could have effectively tackled alone.

While initially focused on SARS-CoV-2, the Network’s research infrastructure was purposefully designed to address the challenges posed by any pathogen affecting human health in similar ways and several units adopted a One Health approach. This adaptable framework positioned the Network as a broader academic resource for pandemic response and preparedness.

Central Network
Management team

cross-cutting theme

members on the Executive Committee (EC)

research pillars

major initiatives

117

core CoVaRR-Net members

347

researchers & HQP

healthcare clinicians

institutions with representation in CoVaRR-Net

Research Pillars:

Pillar 1 | Immunology & Vaccine Protection

Investigating how the immune system responds to emerging variants and assessing the effectiveness of vaccines against them.

Pillar 2 | Host-Pathogen Interactions

Exploring the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 variants and different host species to understand infection and disease, both in the laboratory and the field.

Pillar 3 | Virology

Evaluating the virus’s features in cells and animals. These include measuring infectivity, pathological effects, and vaccine and immune resistance in animals.

Pillar 4 | Functional Genomics & Structure-Function of VOCs

Studying different areas of the viruses & how they interact with cells, investigating viral protein structures and functions & how they interact with human proteins.

Pillar 5 | Viral Genomics & Sequencing

Reading each variant’s genetic code and looking at the relationships between the sequences of the parent virus and the variants.

Pillar 6 / Major Initiative | Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO)

Using computer modelling and calculations to evaluate the genetic evolution of variants and how quickly they propagate in the Canadian population.

Pillar 7 / Major Initiative | CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR)

Creating research that will help Indigenous communities in Canada and worldwide thrive during current and future pandemics by hearing their voices.

Pillar 8 | Public Health, Health Systems & Social Policy Impacts

Studying the impacts of the variants on public health, our healthcare system & on social policy, and reporting these findings to decision-makers and government officials.

Pillar 9 | Knowledge, Implementation and Training Team (KITT)

Promoting an evidence-informed culture of decision-makers among actors in the public health, health system, and social policy fields and creating a collaborative learning environment among CoVaRR-Net collaborators.

Pillar 10 | Antiviral Strategies and Antiviral Therapeutics

Identifying and profiling effectiveness of leading antivirals alone or in combination against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and other human viruses with pandemic potential.

CoVaRR-Net’s Additional Major Initiatives

The CoVaRR-Net Biobank, Data Platform and Bioethics

The Biobank enabled network members across Canada, and industry partners as needed, to quickly access patient samples (e.g., blood and saliva), viral isolates (including via CCABL3 – see below), biological research materials, and information. The CoVaRR-Net Data Platform supported the storage, management, and access of metadata associated with materials in the Biobank by developing a novel centralized catalog. The Bioethics team ensured robust research ethics protocols and enforced harmonized practices. Innovations in pre-established multi-jurisdictional research ethics protocols and a broadly vetted novel universal material and data transfer agreement elevated activities to a state of readiness and speed that was not available at the onset of the pandemic.

CoVaRR-Net’s Wastewater Surveillance Research Group (WWSRG)

Established best practices for wastewater testing and surveillance here in Canada and around the world. Also developed the now globally adopted Public Health and Environmental Surveillance Open Data Model (PHES-ODM) and data standard.

Canadian Consortium of Academic Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories (CCABL3)

Brought together all Canadian academic biosafety level 3 laboratories to share resources, training procedures, and information to provide rapid support to Canadian authorities when facing new emerging biological threats.

CoVaRR-Net’s Mandate

CoVaRR-Net’s Structure