COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 was designated as a pandemic in early 2020, and posed a significant challenge for society the world over. Most people suffer mild to moderate respiratory illness following infection, and recover without treatment. However, the disease can be severe or fatal. Severe outcomes are more likely in the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and those with comorbidities like cancer or diabetes.

Unprecedented levels of collaboration between the research community enabled
the route of transmission, and action, of the virus to be understood much more quickly than usual. This reduced the impact of the pandemic. Nevertheless, many lessons can be learned from the pandemic that can help with future pandemic preparedness.

Now, we have entered a more endemic phase, but many research questions remain about COVID-19. For example, there is still uncertainty regarding the duration of vaccine protection and the effectiveness of booster doses. In addition, vaccine escape has been shown by several variants, which could make vaccines less effective.