Scientists engage in discussions on the impact of Covid and possible new pandemics

The pandemic days appear to be gone for now, but many people continue to get infected and become sick with the corona virus, with millions worldwide being affected by long-term consequences. These conditions are brought together under the umbrella of “Long Covid”, which designates having symptoms and other complications over months and even years after the infection.

At the "From COVID-19 to Long COVID and Pandemic Preparedness" conference in Belval, the CoVaLux programme – a research programme aimed at elucidating unanswered questions about Covid-19 and its impact – was reviewed and lessons learned over the past years in the context of Covid-19 were discussed. International scientists, as well as specialists from Luxembourg, presented their research findings.

The talks also revolved around advice on how to prepare for the next pandemic. Dr. Paul Wilmes of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine explains:

“We had, for example, global presentations from the OECD, on what does Covid-19 mean now for the respective health systems around the world? What does it mean for society? And what does it mean for people who are affected by it, in regard to their jobs? Then we also had talks about the immune response of patients who suffer from Long Covid. We were able to find out that there are no clear mechanisms indicating why someone would suffer from Long Covid.”

It turns out that people who have had more than one Covid infection are not any less inclined to suffer from long-term consequences.

Four to eight percent of the world’s population experience long-term consequences. Symptoms can still affect the concerned patients up to two years after their initial infection. Long Covid is a complex phenomenon. Researchers across the globe are working on improving their understanding of the disease and to develop appropriate treatment methods.

In a sense, the pandemic is not over – at least not for everyone.

© Lynn Cruchten