NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research Now Available

The NIH-Wide COVID-19 Strategic Plan, released on July 13, 2020, provides a framework describing how NIH is accelerating the development of therapeutic interventions, vaccines, and diagnostics in response to the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic. It describes how NIH is rapidly mobilizing the biomedical research community, such as through establishing new programs that leverage existing resources, to lead a swift, coordinated research response.

The plan outlines five cross-cutting strategies:

• Invest in NIH and NIH-funded researchers to increase fundamental and foundational knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.
• Speed innovation in COVID-19 testing technologies through NIH’s recently launched Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative which aims to deliver rapid, widely accessible testing strategies to the public.
• Participate in public-private partnerships, such as NIH’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) partnership, and federal partnerships such as Operation Warp Speed, to forge groundbreaking approaches that speed identification, development, evaluation, and manufacturing of promising candidate therapeutics and vaccines.
• Support studies on preventative treatments and behavioral and community prevention practices to identify and implement effective approaches for promoting individual and community safety.
• Ensure that diagnosis, treatment, and prevention options are accessible and available for underserved and vulnerable populations which have been at greatest risk for the most severe threats of the disease.