Updates on country strategies regarding COVID-19 vaccination and mass testing

Updates on country strategies regarding Rapid Antigen Tests and overall diagnostic strategy

Protocols/procedures in moribund COVID-19 patients

• Are there specific protocols or procedures for the treatment of moribund COVID-19 patients all the way through death and burial available in your country? If yes, what kind of protocols or procedures are in place/available?

What types of variants occurred in your country?

• What is the percentage of the variants of infections?
• Has your country implemented specific regulations concerning isolation/quarantine or testing for people who are (or are suspected to be) infected with a variant of concern and/or their contacts? (e.g. longer isolation/quarantine; additional testing)

1. Mental Health

There are many reports pointing out the urgency of tackling mental health COVID-19 related cases. What are the main measures that MS are putting in place or planning to do so during 2021?

2. Self-tests

Has your country implemented self-tests carried out at home as a prerequisite for access to certain services/locations? (e.g. in order to go shopping or to be able to use services of daily living, such as visits to the hairdresser, etc.)

If yes,

• What conditions must be met in your country for self-tests carried out at home to be recognised by the authorities?
• Can or must the test results be passed on to e.g. authorities? If so, how is this done?
• Are there differences in the recognition of test results along the test procedures (e.g. rapid antigen test vs. PCR test) or brand-specific test parameters (sensitivity/specificity)?
• How long are the test results recognised by the authorities in your country (e.g. 24 hours/ 48 hours etc.) 

3. AstraZeneca

Did your country stop the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine or not? (Yes/No)

1. What is being done in your country considering the management of “long COVID”, specifically:

• Is your country collecting data/conducting studies (e.g. surveillance) on long COVID? If so, please describe how this is done (e.g. data collection, study design, organisational/legal aspects…).
• Which guidelines/recommendations (national or international) is your country following considering the definition, diagnosis and treatment of long COVID?

2. Is wearing masks outdoors mandatory in your country?

• If yes, in which settings is wearing masks outdoors mandatory?

How does your country organise the treatment/management of long COVID patients?

Are there specialised clinics/departments/centres or are concepts for their creation being developed? If so, please provide details, such as:

• Which professional groups (specialists, nurses, psychologists, …) and disciplines are involved?
• How can individuals access the clinics (walk-in, referral …)?
• Are the clinics stand-alone entities or part of larger institutions such as hospitals or primary care centres?

Vaccination compliance

• What is the COVID-19 vaccination rate in your country?
• What is the level of COVID-19 vaccination compliance in your country?
• Are measures either in place or planned for enhancing public trust in COVID-19 vaccination?

Long COVID management

Are there existing or planned processes for coordinated management of care for long COVID patients in your country?

If yes, please describe/share:

• tools for (differential) diagnosis / symptom screening for clinicians?
• standardised treatment pathways for long COVID patients?
• patient information material about long COVID?
• registries of long COVID patients?

Long-term pandemic monitoring and surveillance

• Was the 'state-of-emergency' activated in your country when the pandemic hit, or other emergency legislation set in place in order to set up a COVID-19 monitoring and surveillance system, including regulations for data access and linkage of data sources? Did your constitution already include such mechanisms before COVID-19?
• As a state of emergency or emergency decrees are temporary, what will happen to your COVID-19 monitoring mechanism in the long run? Has a long-term strategy been developed to ensure the continuity of surveillance of COVID-19 and research?