I-MOVE-COVID-19 public WP4: Epidemiological studies

WP4: I-MOVE-COVID-19 Epidemiological studies

Please see below the objectives and partners for WP4. We will add the publicly available documents for the “Epidemiological studies” work package of the I-MOVE-COVID-19 project as they become available. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

WP4 Objectives

Main aim: To conduct studies contributing to priority questions and knowledge gaps on the epidemiology of COVID-19 and specific virological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2
1. To develop/modify existing epidemiological study protocols that are easily adaptable to the epidemiological context and setting
2. To utilise existing sentinel networks (WP2 and WP3) to rapidly implement studies responding to priority questions and knowledge gaps
3. To pool data from WP2 and WP3 to achieve a high sample size and robustness of results
4. To share findings rapidly and widely among the scientific community and all stakeholders, including national and international organisations and institutes
5. Specific objectives depend on the epidemiological situation, knowledge, studies conducted or planned by other groups and include studies to

a. describe the incubation period for mild and severe cases
b. model disease transmission (effective and basic reproduction numbers)
c. compare transmission dynamic estimates over a number of European settings
d. identify preventive and risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the community and hospital settings
e. identify preventive and risk factors for severity and death
f. obtain timely estimates of case fatality among hospitalised cases by severity level, age and risk group, and over time (changes with the epidemiological situation of COVID-19)
g. measure the effectiveness of preventive and treatment strategies
h. measure post-authorisation vaccine effectiveness, once candidate vaccines are available
i. conduct sero-epidemiological studies in community and hospital settings when relevant
j. measure (survey) the proportion of the population complying with preventive measures
k. sequence the full viral genome and describe the genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in (WP2) mild, and in severe (hospitalised) and fatal cases (WP3)
l. study viral genotype over time and region
m. identify transmission chains during hospital outbreaks (HCW) using WGS-NGS
n. identify viral genetic determinants involved during progression of disease.

WP4 Protocols

Building on the hospital surveillance, I-MOVE-COVID-19 is also carrying out a study to identify key risk factors for and protective factors against severe disease among hospitalised COVID-19 patients. You can read the protocol here.

Building on the primary care surveillance, I-MOVE-COVID-19 is also carrying out a study to identify key risk factors for and protective factors against COVID-19 among patients presenting at primary care level to a GP. You can read the protocol here.