Challenges in research post-COVID-19

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) required joint work worldwide and generated the fastest possible response from health systems. There are currently around 630 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, which implies risks for those who overcome the disease but can lead to post-COVID-19 conditions. The study of these sequelae is an urgent research priority. Although mass vaccination led to a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases, the pandemic is not yet considered over. There is a need to build consensus on the basic conditions and outcomes that should be measured by health systems to define safe and appropriate post-COVID-19 conditions. On the other hand, the evidence reported by the WHO generates great attention on a large number of people who have experienced significant health consequences after having overcome the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This evidences the need for research projects on risk factors, side effects of treatments, clinical evolution, genetic characteristics, among others.