Contributor: Gianluca Quaglio

Gianluca QuaglioGianluca Quaglio works in the European Parliament Research Service (EPRS) as policy analyst in health and research policies sectors. He obtained a degree in Medicine from Verona University and a PhD in International Health at the Maastricht University. Before he joined the EPRS, he worked as a clinician and clinical researcher at Verona University Hospital and as scientific project officer in the European Commission, DG Research. He has published over a hundred articles in international peer-review scientific journals.

Interview Maria-Alejandra Tortorici, Coronavirus Covid-19 treatment illustration banner

A scientist’s opinion : Interview with Dr M. Alejandra Tortorici about passive immunisation for COVID-19

M. Alejandra Tortorici works as a virologist at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. She is also visiting scientist at the Biochemistry Department, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Dr Tortorici holds a Bachelor in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, and a PhD from the University of La Plata. She carried out postdoctoral studies ...

Convalescent plasma Coronavirus Covid-19 treatment illustration banner

Passive immunisation for COVID-19

Passive immunisation for COVID-19 There is currently no specific treatment for SARS-CoV-2. However, a number of treatments have been explored in patients with life-threatening COVID-19 (such as antimalarial drugs, antivirals, immunomodulatory agents, and glucocorticoids) with varying results. Convalescent plasma collected from recovered COVID-19 patients, containing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, could potentially be an effective therapeutic tool. ...

Interview Dr Lise Estcourt, Coronavirus Covid-19 treatment illustration banner

A scientist’s opinion : Interview with Dr Lise Estcourt about passive immunisation for COVID-19

Lise Estcourt is a consultant in Haematology and Transfusion Medicine at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), Oxford, UK, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Oxford. She is the Director of NHSBT’s Clinical Trials Unit, the Clinical Lead for the National Comparative Audit in Blood Transfusion, Clinical Tutor for NHSBT, and the coordinating ...

Interview Prof Massimo Galli, Coronavirus Covid-19 treatment illustration banner

A scientist’s opinion : Interview with Prof Massimo Galli about covid-19 treatment

Massimo Galli is Professor of Infectious Diseases, Director of the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Luigi Sacco, University of Milan, and Director of Infectious Diseases III Division, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Luigi Sacco Hospital, Milan, Italy. He is one of Italy’s leading COVID-19 experts. He has published hundreds of scientific articles in international peer-reviewed journals. ...

Dexamethasone, Coronavirus Covid-19 treatment illustration banner

Dexamethasone : the first life-saving drug for COVID-19 patients

Clinical trials make it possible to evaluate whether a treatment improves outcomes. Developing a hypothesis, for example if treatment A is better than standard treatment B, clinical trials enable understanding of the role of an intervention in improving patient care. In the current search for a successful treatment against COVID-19, ongoing multiple clinical trials have started to make a difference, such as the Recovery clinical trial on dexamethasone, which has given a definitive verdict on the use of corticosteroids during COVID-19.

Interview with Prof Martin Landray, Coronavirus Covid-19 treatment illustration banner

A scientist’s opinion : Interview with Prof Martin Landray about covid-19 treatment

Interview with Martin Landray, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. He is one of the main researchers participating in the Recovery study on dexamethasone. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 17 July 2020. What are the main conclusions ...

COVID-19 in Africa: what is at stake?

COVID-19 in Africa: what is at stake?

SARS-CoV-2 has arrived in Africa and, progressively, almost all African countries have closed their borders and imposed various levels of "lockdowns" in the hope of limiting the spread of the pandemic, taking measures similar to those taken elsewhere in the world. The pandemic is producing shocking statistics and tragic consequences in developed regions of the ...

The challenges of tackling Covid-19 in Africa

The challenges of tackling Covid-19 in Africa

Interview with Dr John N. Nkengasong, Director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention about the current situation with the spread of COVID-19 across Africa, about the main risks, challenges and lessons learnt from the HIV/AIDS pandemic and Ebola epidemic.