Covid-19 efforts in the region: November/December update

The last update for the year on Covid-19 efforts in the region from Stockholm Science City. Since March, we have compiled examples of efforts and collaborations between universities, industry, and health care focusing on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and Covid-19.

Academic research and collaborations on Covid-19:Karolinska Institutet Covid-19 Resource Hub >>KTH research and initiatives on the novel corona virus and Covid-19 >>Stockholm University news related to the corona virus >>SciLifeLab efforts related to the Covid-19 pandemic and SciLifeLab Covid-19 action plan >>

“When will the Covid-19 pandemic end”In an article from McKinsey & Company titled “When will the Covid-19 pandemic end” from November 23, the company provides their overview of the before – during – and after perspective on the pandemic.Read more >

Call for proposals: Covid-19 pandemic research and preparednessSciLifeLab now seeks proposals on Covid-19 research within five calls; two that represent the continuation of the ongoing KAW-supported SciLifeLab coordinated Covid-19 research program initiated in the spring of 2020; one that is targeting effects of vaccination; one focused on suggestions for ideas on pandemic preparedness; and one on suggestions for data-driven research on Covid-19.Read more >

SEK 40 million for research on covid-19 vaccineOn December 7, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation announced that the foundation has allocated SEK 40 million to SciLifeLab for research on the efficacy and function of covid-19 vaccines. “Covid-19 is a new, and still in many ways, unknown disease. It is important that as many aspects as possible of the disease and ways to fight it are explored both because of the current situation but also to prepare us for future pandemics. For the Foundation, it was therefore a logical decision to also allocate funds to study the effects of the vaccinations that will be carried out next year, says Peter Wallenberg Jr,” chair of Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.Read more >

Overview from LIF on clinical trials of vaccine against Covid-19November 12: The clinical trials currently underway for Covid-19 vaccines are among the largest conducted to document new vaccines. This is stated in "Development of vaccine against Covid-19 in numbers", a new research overview published by Lif. Globally, more than 200 vaccine candidates against covid-19 are now under development. Of these, 47 are in the so-called clinical phase, which means that they are tested on humans. The fact that there are now so many vaccine candidates in development, and that all have been launched after the turn of the year, is due to the fact that academia, the pharmaceutical industry and the responsible authorities have changed and jointly prioritized this vaccine research.Read more >

Survey from Karolinska Institutet of Covid-19 research provides fresh overviewNovember 10. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have explored all Covid-19 research published during the initial phase of the pandemic. The results, which were achieved by using a machine learning-based approach and published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, will make it easier to direct future research to where it is most needed. In the wake of the rapid spread of Covid-19, research on the disease has escalated dramatically. Over 60,000 Covid-19-related articles have been indexed to date in the medical database PubMed. This body of research is too large to be assessed by traditional methods, such as systematic and scoping reviews, which makes it difficult to gain a comprehensive overview of the science.Read more >

Five Nordic research projects on Covid-19 based on health dataThe research contributes to increased knowledge about Covid-19 for the benefit not only of the Nordic region, but of the whole world. The Nordic countries are jointly strengthening research collaboration on Covid-19 to prepare for future pandemics and are therefore launching five new research projects, which will examine Covid-19 in relation to everything from the course of pregnancy to smoking and mental vulnerability. The goal is to generate new knowledge that can help fight the Covid-19 pandemic against the background of existing health data. Researchers from all over the Nordic region and Estonia are participating in the major collaboration initiative, which has been granted approximately NOK 53 million. Read more >