Covid19-related research by the Max Planck Society
Max Planck researchers are working on vaccines and drugs against the corona virus and are making forecasts on how the pandemic will develop
The current corona crisis poses enormous challenges to our society and to states worldwide. What contribution can science make to overcome this crisis? On this topic page we collect contributions from various research fields at Max Planck Institutes, all of which are related to the corona pandemic.
The focus of interest is, of course, on medical efforts to develop a vaccine, but also on currently available drugs that may be able to alleviate the severe disease progression of Covid19. However, valuable contributions also come from other scientific disciplines. These include, for example, those working on simulations of the outbreak, social science studies and, last but not least, economic analyses of how we can counteract the inevitable economic distortions.
New study shows how face masks reduce the effective reproduction number of Covid-19, and why their efficacy varies between different environments under virus-limited and virus-rich conditions
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To overcome the Coronavirus outbreak, sociopolitical and economic visions for the future are needed just as urgently as vaccines or emergency assistance from the state. A contribution by Lisa Suckert
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Coronavirus vaccines are in short supply. India and South Africa have called for a relaxation of patent protection rules. Their proposal to temporarily suspend intellectual property (IP) rules related to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments is currently being discussed at the World Trade Organization. But is this proposal the right approach? In an interview, Reto Hilty, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, explains why he thinks laying hands on patent protection is dangerous.
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