The efforts of the European Institutions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic are undeniable and the initiatives adopted increasingly larger. In particular, the European Union has implemented a series of measures to promote the massive and immediate exchange of data and thus improve pan-European coordination on research and innovation.
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SubscribeThe efforts of the European Institutions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic are undeniable and the initiatives adopted increasingly larger. In particular, the European Union has implemented a series of measures to promote the massive and immediate exchange of data and thus improve pan-European coordination on research and innovation.
As the European Commission recently announced, it has just launched a database to combine and store information on COVID-19 testing and the methods currently available at a single location.
The number of tests available in the European Union to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 (“severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”), the type of coronavirus causing COVID-19, is constantly growing, and information on their use, performance and adequacy to obtain an objective or specific datum is vital. Its importance is clear not only to combat the COVID-19 outbreak but also to be able to prepare effective, safe plans and strategies on lifting the lockdown measures imposed by all Member States.
An online database of in vitro diagnostic devices and COVID-19 test methods, fueled by the different public health laboratories and national health data infrastructures, is expected to enable the scientific community to make adequate decisions.
This COVID-19 data portal also has a centralized repository to include and share the available research data, reinforcing the research efforts by allowing the scientists tasked with studying the virus to reuse and access the pertinent data (such as DNA sequences, clinical trials and epidemiological data).
As part of the European effort to combat the virus, in addition to creating this data portal, other measures have been taken such as coordinating research funding, increasing large clinical trials, and other measures seeking to support society in general and innovative businesses that wish to do their bit in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed lives across the world so much and so quickly.
Authors: Ana Sánchez and Jorge Monclús
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