Latest news related to COVID-19

In the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, BioWin, the Health Cluster of Wallonia, is concerned about the health of its ecosystem and the impact of this crisis on Life Science companies and organizations, both at regional and federal level.

In order to provide its members and contributors with the best possible information, the cluster will collect the most relevant information (measures, initiatives and press articles) on a daily basis and will share it below. This page will therefore be regularly updated. Stay tuned!

MEASURES
(Regional and federal)

• Yves Van Laethem: «Il n’y aura pas de vaccin pour tout le monde», le Conseil supérieur de la santé essaye de déterminer des groupes prioritaires.
• The Walloon Government presented theGet Up Wallonia!initiative to respond to the emergencies related to Covid-19 and to prepare the future of Wallonia and its citizens. It pursues economic, social, environmental and territorial development objectives. Read more
• Walloon and federal measures for companies(article only available in french)
• Additional support measures: corporate income tax, legal entity tax, non-resident tax, personal income tax, VAT and withholding tax on earned income(article only available in french, dutch and german)
• The Bureau for Standardisation is digitally accessible to answer all your questions about standards

INITIATIVES AND PLATFORMS

Health initiatives and platforms are flourishing to answer unmet medical needs and shortage. You can find here the most relevant ones:

• Thenew governmental web-applications regarding critical products.

– If you have critical products to offer/sell, click here! 

– If you need critical products to protect your employees during essential interventions, inside or outside an hospital environment, click here!

• BioWin’s interactive platform for centralization of health initiatives related to COVID-19
• Initiative of the UWE (Union Wallonne des Entreprises)
• Platform created by WeLL and MecaTech,as part of MedTech Wallonia, to support the fight against the COVID-19 crisis
• Free opening of the 150SoH platform by the Patient Numérique and OZ Consulting to list a maximum of digital solutions and fight against the crisis
• Federal platform for provision of resources in the fight against COVID-19

EUROPEAN RECOMMENDATIONS, MEASURES AND INITIATIVES

• NOUVEAU! EU endorses €540 billion emergency plan.Le Vif
• #EUvsVirus Hackathon is a call to action to all citizens around the world regardless of origin and skill to participate in the fight against COVID-19: Demonstrate unity and share your skills for the common good across borders and generations! Let’s digitally open EU-borders during this collective challenge!
• COVID-19 outbreak – visit the European Research Area (ERA) corona platform for information on related research & innovation!
• A European roadmap to lifting coronavirus containment measures
• BioM-COVID-19-Plattform: an exchange platform for finding partners, technologies and expertise in COVID-19 research projects companies, research institutions and hospitals by BIO-M (Munich)
• BIO-RN (Heidelberg) created a form to fill in with your offers and search ads to figth COVID-19 pandemic
• Horizon 2020 deadlines are postponed: NCP Wallonie launches a didactic tool to inform you! (FR)
• Changes to European Regional Development Fund
• Coronavirus: Commission waives customs duties and VAT on the import of medical equipment from non-EU countries
• Commission postpones application of the Medical Devices Regulation to prioritise the fight against coronavirus
• The European Commission has just issued guidance for the production of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE), leave-on hand cleaners and hand disinfectants and 3D printing
• Postponement of deadlines for the 2020 Health and e-Health calls
• Authorisation scheme for the export of medical equipment from the EU
• Norms can be dowloaded on CEN ‘s website and on NBN‘s website
• European standards for medical supplies made freely available to facilitate increase of production
• Follow the work of the EIT Health community in response to COVID-19 and connect with innovators throughout Europe to find and share resources
• European Science-Media Hub selection: reliable sources of information about Coronavirus
• Covid-19 Industrial Clusters Response Portal

INFORMATION FROM THE FAMHP

• 14/04/20 – Coronavirus : Alternative Test Protocol (ATP) for Surgical Masks

• 09/04/20 – Circular for care institutions on the (outsourcing of the) manufacture and reprocessing of medical devices and their accessories

• 07/04/20 – Coronavirus: Belgian directive for the reuse of surgical masks and FFP2/FFP3 masks in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic

• 25/03/20 – Click here to read all information from the FAMHP

• 25/03/20 – Belgian guideline for the management of clinical trials during the coronavirus pandemic

• 25/03/20 – European guidelines for the management of clinical trials during the coronavirus pandemic

Follow the news of our ecosystem during the COVID-19 epidemic

PRESS AND MEDIA

• 23/10/20: Covid: qui remportera la course au vaccin? Le Vif

• 23/10/20: Vaccin, médicament: une vingtaine d’essais cliniques liés au Covid en cours en Belgique. Le vif

• 12/10/20: Des tests antigéniques “pour voir comment le virus circule” L’Echo

• 10/10/20: Jean Stéphenne: “Tous les Belges ne seront pas vaccinés avant la fin de 2021” L’Echo

• 20/09/20: L’application de traçage Coronalert sera disponible dans la semaine du 28 septembre. Le vif

• 14/09/20: Comment interpréter les rebonds de cas de coronavirus en Europe ? Le Vif

• 14/09/20: Coronavirus: l’Europe teste l’interopérabilité entre apps de traçage de six Etats. Le Trends

• 14/09/20: Coronavirus : le masque pourrait aussi réduire la gravité de la maladie. RTBF

• 12/09/20: Coronavirus: AstraZeneca reprend ses tests pour un vaccin. L’Echo

• 12/09/20: Merck teste un vaccin contre le Covid en Belgique. L’Echo

• 09/09/20: Soulagement pour AstraZeneca: la maladie d’un patient participant aux essais du vaccin non liée à celui-ci. L’Echo

• 08/09/20: Union sacrée des universités francophones autour de l’intelligence artificielle (TRAIL). Le Soir

• 06/09/20: Le vrai ou faux: un masque réutilisé plusieurs jours de suite perd de son efficacité. Le Soir

• 03/09/20: Y a-t-il des preuves de l’utilité de l’obligation de port du masque pour lutter contre le coronavirus ? Eléments de réponse. RTBF

• 03/09/20: La Belgique devrait recevoir son premier lot de vaccin contre le Covid-19 au mois de mars. Le Soir

• 02/09/20: Coronavirus : Roche va lancer un test rapide pour le Sars-Cov-2 dans l’Union européenne. RTBF

• 02/09/20: Une centaine de questions pour voir si son entreprise respecte les mesures corona. Trends

• 27/08/20: Une vaste étude enterre la chloroquine. Le Soir

• 26/08/20: Coronavirus: 7,5 millions de doses du vaccin AstraZeneca réservées pour la Belgique. RTBF

• 26/08/20: Sept mois plus tard, que sait-on réellement du coronavirus ? RTBF

• 26/08/20: Les virologues sont-ils allés trop loin ? “Nous ne sommes vraiment pas des experts bornés”. Le Vif

• 25/08/20: AstraZeneca teste un nouveau traitement contre le Covid-19. L’Echo

• 25/08/20: Selon une étude belge, le traitement à faibles doses d’hydroxychloroquine a eu un effet positif sur la mortalité des patients. RTBF

• 24/08/20: Comment une filière «masques» 100% belge est sortie de terre en quelques mois. Le Soir

• 24/08/20: Le plasma, une piste parmi d’autres contre le Covid-19. L’Echo

• 22/08/20: Coronavirus : l’humidité peut-elle influencer la propagation du virus ? RTBF

• 19/08/20: Coronavirus: l’espoir grandit autour de l’immunité collective. Le Vif

READ THE NEWS FROM JULY 2020