Innovation Network DEFEnse Against Covid-19 Study – Looking forward

The whole world is affected by the Corona pandemic. The measures taken in Germany to contain and combat the pandemic were aimed at protecting citizens from the disease and its effects, some of which were severe or, in sad cases, fatal. Novel mRNA-based vaccines have been available since the end of 2020. Regulatory studies have shown that these can dramatically reduce the rate of disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. These vaccines could pave a "way back" to normal, previously accustomed life as a whole-society perspective.

However, the group that is particularly predestined for a severe course includes people for whom it is not yet certain to what extent the immune system reacts after COVID-19 antigen contact through vaccination, in particular whether antibodies are formed. This group mainly includes people with diseases of the immune system or patients who are treated with immunosuppressive drugs. This includes, for example, people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, but many more, who make up a large number of people in Lower Saxony.

It is largely unclear to what extent immune protection builds up for these people, to what extent it lasts, which components of the immune system mediate these effects in immunocompromised people (immunoglobulins / T-lymphocytes) and to what extent affected people and their relatives and families find their way back into a daily life characterized by self-efficacy and social participation after vaccination or whether the social after-effects of the pandemic are prolonged.

In addition to people for whom there is uncertainty about whether they will build individual immune protection through vaccination, there is another group that will become more of a focus in the future: Those people who continue to retain symptoms after COVID disease (so-called long- or post-COVID). While immunological backgrounds, syndromal manifestations and treatment structures are addressed in the other subprojects in the research network, the life paths of those affected are to be recorded here under participation aspects in a temporal dimension. Due to the novelty of the topic, there has been hardly any research on the psychosocial consequences of the disease, and in particular there is a lack of knowledge about socio-medical aspects over a longer period of time. The present project is intended to close existing research gaps in this area, especially with regard to the local care structures.