NFDI4Health - Task Force COVID-19

The Task Force COVID-19 can be seen as preliminary project of NFDI4Health and originated 2020 from the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical, epidemiological and public health data about the pandemic and its consequences are collected and provided to relevant communities. Overaching goal is the work collaboration and harmonized research between medical, epidemiological and public health communities, as well as the rapid information of research results on COVID-19.

The Task Force COVID-19 pursues the following three goals:

1. Improve the FAIRness of COVID-19 research data collections. The NFDI4Health Task Force COVID-19 will create a comprehensive inventory of German studies on COVID-19 with structured, interoperable health data. The appropriate findability and access to these resources as well as the improved data exchange and analysis possibilities are focused.
2. Foster the timely implementation of harmonized research related to COVID-19. Guidelines and training materials on data collection and management as well as on the use of routine data will be developed and disseminated. The aim is to facilitate predictive standardization efforts and enhance the comparability of the results of future studies. Further tools to analyze, explore and visualize the data support the availability of high-quality COVID-19 research results.
3. Record linkage of various COVID-19 data records. Data from one and the same person collected in various studies need to be linked while ensuring data protection concepts and signing an informed consent. The Task Force COVID-19 will develop a concept for linking the various relevant data sources and seek for a close collaboration with other national institutions, initiatives and research networks.