END-VOC

European and Global Response to COVID-19 pandemic and variants of concern

Objective

Elucidate the global circulation of the current and emerging SARS-CoV-2 VOCs and their characteristics, including transmissibility, pathogenicity and propensity to cause reinfection, to support best control strategies and the development of diagnostics; evaluate the impact of VOCs on the effectiveness of different vaccines and vaccination strategies; and assess the implications of VOCs on the choice of optimal treatment options. END-VOC will also investigate how VOCs alter long-term post-infection sequelae and where new VOCs emerge within hosts using our clinical cohorts.


Description

The END-VOC consortium consists of 19 partners with cohorts in Europe (UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland), South America (Brazil and Peru), Africa (Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria and 13 countries in the ANTICOV trial), Middle East (Palestine) and Asia (India, Pakistan, Philippines). By using data from 28 well-established cohorts in these countries, the three-year project will focus on five key areas: i) detect and characterize emerging viral variants; evaluate their capacity to ii) evade vaccine-induced immunity or cause reinfections, iii) escape current treatments, iv) cause Long Covid; as well as v) provide recommendations to better prepare and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks.


AIGHD Research Lead

Dr. Anniek de Ruijter


Partners

University College London, United Kingdom (Lead)

Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Italy

Università Degli Studi Di Milano, Italy

Universitatsklinikum Heidelberg, Germany

Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona, Spain

Institut Universitari per la Recerca a l’Atencio Primaria de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina, Spain

Folkehelseinstituttet (Norwegian Institute of Public Health), Norway

Stichting Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (including UvA Law Centre for Health and Life), The Netherlands

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Universite de Geneve, Switzerland

Public Health Foundation of India Fundaçao Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil

Laboratoire National De Santé, Luxembourg

Arab American University Palestine

Institut D’investigació En Ciencias De La Salut Germans Trias I Pujol, Spain

Dopasi Foundation, Pakistan University of The Philippines

Centro de Investigaçao em Sañude de Manhiça, Mozambique

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Switzerland


Contact info

Valeria Cristofoli (v.cristofoli@aighd.org)


Funders

European Commission


Countries

The Netherlands

Spain

Switzerland

Mozambique

The Philippines

Brazil

Luxembourg

Norway

Germany

Italy

United Kingdom