Healthcare workforce conditions before and since the pandemic

In your country, what were

• the average hours worked per week by doctors/nurses before the pandemic vs. now?
• the average monthly salary of doctors/nurses before the pandemic vs. now?

If possible, please provide separate answers for both:

• doctors/nurses in hospitals and
• doctors/nurses in the outpatient sector

COVID-19 deaths and mortality statistics

• In your country, are deaths where COVID-19 is reported as a contributory cause of death and not as underlying cause of death also included in mortality statistics reported to ECDC?
• What definition is currently used in your country to report COVID-19 deaths?
• If a person dies suddenly or of unknown cause or external cause of death and requires an autopsy, is a test for COVID-19 carried out post-mortem?
• In reporting mortality statistics due to COVID-19, are all COVID-19 deaths (community + nursing homes + hospital) included or just hospital deaths?
• Does a COVID-19 death require a positive laboratory diagnosis or is clinical diagnosis sufficient?

Comparing the European COVID-19 situation at the beginning of Summer 2020 and 2021 with Summer 2022

• Is the current overall COVID-19 situation in your country similar to that at the beginning of the two previous Summer seasons (2020 and 2021), or are there clear differences?
• Have the expectations expressed in last summer seasons regarding the European pandemic status in the Summer of 2022 come true, or has the situation developed differently from what was expected?
• What do you expect for the 2022 Autumn season?

Protecting vulnerable groups

• Is your country currently taking any actions to protect vulnerable groups (i.e. groups who are, due to their own health status, highly susceptible to severe COVID-19)? For example, if no obligatory mouth nose protection needs to be worn, are there e.g. specific train compartments where masks are worn or similar measures?
• How do you define vulnerable groups? (Are these primarily groups who define themselves as vulnerable or are defined as vulnerable based on existing evidence?)

National public vaccination plans

• Do you have a publicly funded plan with recommended vaccinations (for everyone or only for kids)? If yes, please provide the link if it is published.
• In the light of Chickenpox and Diphtheria, are there any plans to update publicly funded vaccination plan? For which disease(s) and for which age-cohort?
• If not, when did the last update take place in regard to which disease or booster jab?

COVID-19 mortality

• How long does the entire process take to obtain ICD-10 coding of causes of death from death certificates?
• Do you already have access to information (complete or partial) on COVID-19 as cause of death from death certificates? Have the death certificates now been integrated in the COVID-19 mortality statistics?
• Are death certificates completed by the physician in electronic or paper format? If completed electronically, what location of death do they cover (ex. hospital only?) and what is the coverage in relation to all deaths?
• Are there any COVID-19 mortality reports you can share, or reports of excess mortality during the COVID-19 crisis?

​​​​​​Communication strategies

• What communication channels are currently used by official sources in your country to disseminate COVID-19 information / which is the most common tool?
• In your opinion, which communication channels/tools are working best to reach the people in your country at this stage of the pandemic? Have there been any (recent) adaptations to your country's national communication strategies with respect to countering pandemic fatigue and improving effectiveness of communication?

COVID-19 pandemic evaluation

• Have any data analyses or studies been published in your country yet (on national level, or comparing several countries) that investigate direct and indirect health impacts of the pandemic (including indicators such as excess mortality, burden of disease, diminished mental health and well-being, diminished physical activity, loneliness, years of life lost, DALYs/QALYs etc.)?
• Other than already published works, is there data analysis currently ongoing or in preparation in your country that investigates direct and indirect health impacts of the pandemic? If so, which indicators are mainly being investigated in this scope?

Concurrent with the 32nd Rapid Exchange Forum, the fourth Special Edition REF took place. To avoid duplication of work, we believe it is highly relevant to be aware of other international activities, mechanisms and expert groups already in place, or established during the pancemic, which exchange information on population health developments that require rapid action. 

To shed light on such activities, REF Special Editions invite key guests from relevant international organisations to report on their main activities, boards/expert groups, and different COVID-19 actions. 

The guest speakers for the fourth Special Edition REF were:

• European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) - Christian Wimmer
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) – Marie Heloury & Ettore Severi
• European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) – Federico Pratellesi
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – Gaetan Lafortune
• European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (OBS) - Matthias Wismar

Strategies for winter 2022 and BA.2

• Is your country taking actions at the moment (or are there plans in place) to anticipate/mitigate a potential spike in COVID-19 infections in autumn/winter 2022? Have any strategies to this effect been developed  based on lessons learned in the previous two years?
• Have plans and strategies changed in your country since emergence of the BA.2 subvariant? If so, how? Are there any recommendations you would like to share with other countries in this scope?