Author: Daniele Pazzola

In March 2021, the RECOVER Social Science team has published a paper on the experiences and needs of persons living with a household member infected with SARS-CoV-2. Households are important sites for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and preventive measures are recommended. This study aimed to investigate the impact of living with a person infected with SARS-CoV-2, understand how household members implemented infection control recommendations in their home, and identify the information and support needs of household members.

The delivery of primary health care, especially for patients with symptoms of a respiratory tract infection, has been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventive measures, frequently changing advice and guidelines, implementation of diagnostic testing by general practices and later by routine community surveillance, changed consultation behaviours because of fear for COVID-19 and not wanting to unnecessarily use health care resources urged for constant adaptations in care delivery.

At the beginning of 2021, our RECOVER scientist Marion Koopmans participated in a 28-day missions in the Chinese city of Wuhan to investigate the origins of the virus that caused the global COVID-19 pandemic. She was part of a a team of experts appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

On Thursday 18 March 2021, the RECOVER Social Science team will present the results of their qualitative study at the SW SAPC on-line conference 2021. The study focuses on patients and healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) experiences of receiving and delivering care during the COVID-19 pandemic in 8 European countries.

In collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the RECOVER Social Sciences team has published a policy brief based on their latest study on public views of COVID-19 vaccination in seven European countries: France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine.

REMAP-CAP, an Adaptive Platform Trial for Community-Acquired Pneumonia, launched its second in a series of videos. The video shows the uniqueness, smart, and easy-to-handle design of this trial. As an adaptive platform, REMAP-CAP is designed to adapt in the event of a pandemic, increasing the likelihood of patients receiving an effective treatment.

The European Commission has launched a manifesto to maximise the accessibility of research results in the fight against COVID-19. It provides guiding principles for beneficiaries of EU research grants for coronavirus prevention, testing, treatment and vaccination to ensure that their research results will be accessible for all and guarantee a return on public investment.

The Epidemiological and Modelling Study team has published a preprint paper on the possible impact of reopening schools after lockdown on COVID-19 epidemic in the region of Île-de-France (Domenico et al. 2020).

The Clinical Biological Study team of RECOVER has carried out a rapid SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequencing combined with epidemiological studies to inform public health decision making in the Netherlands (Oude Munnink et al. 2020).