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Researchers from across the Medical Sciences Division are working hard to combat the COVID-19 crises. With particular strengths in infectious diseases and international health, we are well placed to contribute to better understanding and effectively controlling the epidemic. We have a long history of responding to crises, in the UK and around the world and are leaders in emergency vaccine development. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, our scientists performed the world’s first human Ebola vaccine studies, starting them before any other university or company. Our researchers, in collaboration with partners across the globe, are working to develop an effective vaccine and drugs to target this virus, and have already introduced innovative public health measures and collaborative online tools that are being used in hospitals here and abroad.

Coronavirus-related news from across the Medical Sciences Division

Study reveals high number of persistent COVID-19

A new study led by the University of Oxford has found that a high proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the general population lead to persistent infections lasting a month or more. The findings have been published today in the journal Nature.

Single cell spatial analysis provides new insight into immune-pathology in Covid-19 lungs

A Nature Communications study led by Professor Ling-Pei Ho’s group in the MRC Translational Immune Discovery Unit (TIDU) provides new insights into how immune cells interact in the lungs of patients with severe COVID-19.

RECOVERY trial expands to investigate treatments for influenza

The RECOVERY trial, which discovered four effective treatments for COVID-19, has expanded to investigate treatments for influenza (flu).

Oxford launches new vaccine trial to enhance design of flu & COVID-19 vaccines

This study will test the responses of cells in lymph nodes before and after immunisation with flu and COVID-19 vaccines and compare reactions in older and younger adults

Oxford to lead global collaboration to research and develop next-generation COVID-19 and flu vaccines

Project headed by Oxford University’s Professor Teresa Lambe OBE (Calleva Head of Vaccinology and Immunology, Department of Paediatrics) and co-developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and Paul Klenerman (Sidney Truelove Professor, Nuffield Department of Medicine)

Longer-term organ abnormalities confirmed in some post-hospitalised COVID patients

A study looking at the longer-term impact of COVID-19 has found that nearly a third of patients displayed abnormalities in multiple organs five months after infection, some of which have been shown through previous work to be evidence of tissue damage.

Young people’s mental health deteriorated at greater rate during the pandemic

Young people’s mental health deteriorated during COVID-19, with higher levels of depression and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties than before the pandemic hit, a comprehensive new study has shown.

Evidence shows COVID-19 triggers sustained inflammatory gene expression

In a study, recently published in Genomics Medicine, researchers from NDM’s Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics and the CAMS Oxford Institute investigated the long-term impact of COVID-19 on immune cells.

Study shows detrimental impact of Long Covid on the education and lives of children and young people

New research from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, and the universities of Stirling and Aberdeen funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has shone a spotlight on the profound effect Long Covid can have on children and young people’s school experience and wider lives.

Blood clots during COVID-19 may be a cause of ongoing cognitive problems

High levels of two proteins at the time of COVID-19 have been found in patients who later experienced cognitive problems, including ‘brain fog’, giving a major clue as to one cause of their symptoms: blood clots.