Corona is everywhere. What was once commonly known as drunk from the bottle with a wedge of lemon (i.e. the Mexican beer) mutated to a household name filled with horror. News – fake, real, it does not matter – do not help as the only fact is “scio nescire”, in other words, we know that we know nothing (or at least nothing 100% concrete) about the virus. To change this, the EU allocated research funds with the focus on COVID-19: To help reach the objectives of the Coronavirus Global Response, €1 billion will be mobilised under the EU’s flagship programme for research and innovation, Horizon 2020. The website “Coronavirus research & innovation” provides in depth information on the activities.
Already in January, the European Commission launched an emergency call for proposal to combat the virus. 18 projects have been selected, in four main areas: Preparedness & Response, Diagnostics, Treatment, Vaccines. Let’s hope that they contain the “crown jewels” that will eventually produce effective weapons against the virus.
emfs.eu 