Last week, Lorenzo Maria Canziani, from the ID-CARE Team at the University of Verona, attended the Demystifying Long COVID International Conference 2024, presenting the Cohort Coordination Board (CCB) and hosting an engaging networking event for the Board.
The CCB, coordinated by the ID-CARE team at the University of Verona, is a forum that brings together cohort-based COVID-19 and Mpox research projects across Europe alongside representatives from the European Commission, EMA, ECDC and EFPIA. It aims to encourage knowledge-sharing between cohort-based research projects to facilitate partnerships, find solutions to common challenges and reduce overlap between projects. During the CCB’s monthly meetings, members and external experts are invited to present new initiatives, share preliminary results and discuss challenges. Originally managed under the auspices of the Horizon 2020 ORCHESTRA project, the CCB has since been included into the Horizon Europe VERDI and CoMeCT projects. The figure below shows the timeline of the various projects, and how one lead to another, starting with the Trial Coordination Board (TCB) in July 2020.
At the event, Lorenzo discussed the background and history of the CCB, and how it aims to encourage collaboration between cohort studies, reduce duplication of work and improve European pandemic preparedness. His presentation also focussed on the latest updates from the Long COVID Working Group of the CCB. The presentation was followed by a fruitful networking session, where attendees engaged with each other and with other CCB representatives.
“This event was a great opportunity to engage interested networks and show the work we are doing here at the CCB. I also greatly enjoyed the other talks and presentations taking place at this honest and collaborative conference.”
The Demystifying Long COVID International Conference 2024 was held on 21 – 22 November 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. This conference aims to raise awareness, clarify misconceptions, promote understanding, and stimulate discussion amongst healthcare professionals, investigators, policymakers, and community representatives on the clinical manifestations, management, plausible preventive and therapeutic options, and public health challenges related to Long COVID (or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19).
Knowledge of symptom-specific testing and diagnostic recommendations for Long COVID is still limited. The possible protective role of vaccination remains an extensive area of research, likewise the possible effect of antiviral and other treatment strategies. This highlights the importance of sustained medical education and regular updates on guidelines.
The program featured state-of-the-art lectures, case presentations, and interactive sessions tailored to address educational needs in global healthcare settings. Ample time was reserved also for debates and panel discussions to enhance knowledge exchange and reinforce the implementation of clinical guidelines and recommendations.