As we adapt to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to support the UK's best medical and health researchers and ensure their voices are included in the important decision-making ahead.
Our policy work on preparedness, testing, vaccines and more helps build the research base for tackling COVID-19.
COVID-19: in the future
Two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic our President, Professor Dame Anne Johnson PMedSci, takes a look back at what we have learnt and what the future may hold. Read more in herblog: COVID-19 two years on. You can also read our review of the Academy through the pandemic (published November 2021) here.
Data sharing
Robust, accessible scientific research is critical in pandemics.In January 2020 we collectively called for rapid open sharing of COVID-19 data in line with our shared 2016 principles on data sharing in public health emergencies. We require grant awardees to make peer-reviewed original research freely publically available. Our open-access drug development database is helping scientists prioritise preclinical COVID-19 drug research.
Vaccine development
We previously explored how to rapidly test new vaccines on healthy adult volunteers through controlled human infection model studies, including a 2018 workshop on practical and ethical oversight needed for this research.
We help ensure clear, up-to-date COVID-19 information so people can discuss what that science means for our society.
Press and media
Our Press Office works directly the Science Media Centreto ensure journalists access the UK's best medical and health experts. Our President and Vice-Presidents routinely provide expert comment in national and international media alongside ongoing response statements to key developments. We centre patients and the public in our pandemic work: read our overarching policy principles here.
Public engagement
We engage patients throughout our pandemic policy work. We have empowered young adults to discuss COVID-19 through a graphic story: DIVOC-91, co-created by artists, our medical researchers, and young people across three continents.
“Uncertainty is inevitable in the coming months: it is amazing how much we have learnt already about a virus that emerged just a few months ago. Science thrives on debate and it is often the interaction of conflicting views and challenge that drives progress. However in an epidemic situation, like the one we are facing, people want certainty and firm reassurance. Trustworthy advice, from credible experts can quickly be politicised. Scientists bear a strong responsibility here and must work to ensure the public have access to the latest reliable evidence whilst at the same time maintaining awareness of its impact in the ongoing broader societal debate.” Academy President, March 2020
We will be as flexible as possible to support all our researchers around COVID-19.
We are continuing all grant funding. Please visit individual scheme pages for more details. We've published FAQs for grant applicants and awardees during COVID-19. We have introduced COVID-19 impact statements in our grants to help account for people's different pandemic experiences. We have published top tips for factoring COVID-19 into grant applications for applicants, panel members and also other funders. You can read about previous grant applicants' COVID-19 experiences here. We have also co-ordinated a joint statement between 23 funders on how we as funders will look to fairly recognise and remember the impacts of COVID-19 in future grants rounds (March 2022) - funders are encouraged to continue to sign up to this statement.
We are helping grant awardees adapt by awarding hundreds of costed and no-cost extensions. If you encounter problems that may delay the start of your Award, please contact us as soon as possible. If you encounter problems during your Award, we encourage you to not request a no-cost extension until the last three months of the Award, to allow all factors to be considered and minimise multiple requests for the same Award. All requests for extensions should be made before your Award end date. We consider extension requests on a case-by-case basis, but please be assured requests for no-cost extensions to Awards impacted by COVID-19 will be granted.
We are supporting clinical academics who pause research to focus on patient care. We worked with the wider medical community in March 2020, June 2020 and October 2020 to highlight this. Our Vice-President Professor Paul Stewart FMedSci adds: "The Academy will continue to champion the needs of clinical academic trainees and I want them to know that they have our full and continued support."
We are supporting researchers by highlighting the challenges the pandemic causes to future research careers (November 2020 report). Our COVID-19 career support space offers resources on topics from leading a remote team to loneliness and overwork.
Many of our events are currently online or hybrid: visit individual events and career support programme pages to find out more.
COIVD-19 still disrupts the lives of many in the UK and globally. This position paper outlines the Academy’s views on what should be considered, both for COVID-19 and more broadly, as we proceed into winter 2022 and beyond.
COVID-19: Winter 2021-22 and beyond
Despite the UK’s successful vaccination programme, a lethal triple mix of COVID-19, influenza, and the respiratory virus Respiratory Syncytial Virus, could push an already depleted NHS to breaking point this winter unless we act now. The Academy was asked by the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor in July 2021 to again look ahead - find out more on our news page and policy page. As seen in BBC News, The Sun, The Financial Times and more. In September 2021 our President wrote a response to the UK Government's winter plans so far.
Preparing for a challenging winter 2020-21
In July 2020 we rapidly reviewed how the UK must prepare for a challenging winter, with COVID-19 alongside a backlog of people needing NHS help and the possibility of a flu epidemic. This report was used in PMQs and has been downloaded over 200,000 times. As seen in BBC News, Financial Times, The Guardian and more. In November 2020 we also reviewed how to improve UK diagnostic testing through a cross-sector roundtable.
We work internationally with other national medical academies and global health leaders to share and learn across our pandemic experiences.
We have hosted a range of online joint and collaborative workshops on aspects of the pandemic and country responses. hosted a joint workshop and published a joint statement with the Brazilian National Academy of Medicine on combatting COVID-19 (April 2020). We collaborated with seven national medical academies and organisations from low- and middle- income countries (Argentina, Brazil, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, and The African Academy of Sciences) to host an international virtual workshop comparing countries' responses to COVID-19 across clinical, behavioural and public health domains (June 2020). We reviewed the experiences and responses of the UK and France to the pandemic through a joint vaccines symposium (December 2021).
We have hosted two International Health Lectures bringing together diverse experts to discuss COVID-19.
2021: 'Global pandemic perspectives: public health, mental health, and lessons for the future' with Dr Matshidiso Moeti (World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa) Professor Helen Herrman (former President of the World Psychiatric Association) and Professor George Gao (Director-General of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention).
2020: Learning from crisis: building resilient systems to combat future pandemics. Professor Gabriel Leung (Dean of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong), Professor Robin Shattock FMedSci (Professor of Mucosal Infection and Immunity at Imperial College London) and Professor Ilona Kickbusch (Chair of the Global Health Centre in Geneva):
COVID-19: what next?
