In the early stages of the first COVID-19 peak, 900 on a total of 2,500 nursing homes in the Netherlands were affected by COVID-19. Cees and Bianca informed the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) that research on the transmission of COVID-19 in nursing homes was urgently needed. This research was set up at record pace by their research groups from UNO in close collaboration with the GGD and the Virology lab of Erasmus MC. The results and recommendations of this study have been fully adopted by the OMT and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports and form the basis for national policy in nursing homes today.
About the Amsterdam UMC Societal Impact Award
Amsterdam UMC has founded the Societal Impact Award to increase awareness for the importance of creating societal impact through research. This award is for an Amsterdam UMC researcher or team with a relevant societal impact in the academic year 2019-2020. This year twelve candidates were nominated by the eight research institutes.
Watch the Societal Impact Award promotion video of Bianca Buurman and Cees Hertogh on YouTube.