Within the scope of the RESEARCH4COVID program, 2 projects submitted by the Polytechnic of Porto were approved, with an investment of 30 thousand euros for each one - the maximum possible support.
Considering that the different health systems are at risk of exceeding their response capacity in the provision of care - both in terms of diagnosis and treatment - a group of professors from the Polytechnic of Porto, led by Ruben Fernandes, a researcher at Escola Superior de Saúde (ESS), joined forces with doctors, teachers and researchers from other institutions.
For Ruben Fernandes, researcher and professor, “the high transmissibility and pathogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, associated with the high incubation period, and the fact that asymptomatic carriers may be diasporas of the infection caused the pandemic COVID-19 to have transformed into a 'perfect storm' at the level of Global Health. ”
All efforts are not enough, and the laboratory fot the new SARSCoV-2 will provide support to the peripheral populations of greater Porto, in particular the municipalities of Arouca, Castelo de Paiva, Paredes, Penafiel and Santa Maria da Feira, covering a population range exceeding 325 000 users.
The group of 14 health professionals linked to teaching, research and clinical practice that constituted the consortium financed by the Foundation for Science and Technology, in the IPP4AFA and IPP4AVSS projects, will work with a substantial number of primary health care professionals, allowing the laboratory test to be carried out in a more personalized and direct way to the user.
Health professionals, elements of the security forces and fire brigades will also benefit, in addition to all those who, not including themselves in the parameters of the referred DGS standard by medical criteria, should be screened. In a first phase, the consortium installed at the Polytechnic of Porto intends to carry out 160 daily tests.
“The task seems titanic considering the size of the population to be covered”, says the researcher, “but we are sure of the support of the institutions and their management structures, of their colleagues and students, of the health professionals who fight daily in the field, of the political powers, from different communities - and the civic duty of each one to actively fight the pandemic, helping others by staying at home. ”
With a total investment of 1.8 million euros, the 66 funded proposals address research areas ranging from diagnosis to the prevention of COVID-19, to clinical and epidemiological studies or therapy, and correspond to a global investment of 1.8 million euros, from national funds through the FCT budget. Of the 302 applications from across the country, 284 projects were chosen for evaluation, of which 66 will be funded (20%).
