Covid-19 Response

Queen Mary has been and continues to work closely with government, local authorities and the NHS to support the fight against coronavirus. 

We have launched a number of new research studies to develop understanding of Covid-19 and its impact on people physically, emotionally, socially and economically as well as its' wider society impacts. Our School of Medicine and Dentistry is also involved in supporting research into Covid-19 prevention and treatment. For more details on these studies please visit our dedicated Coronavirus news pages.

Our Covid-19 response work has not been limited to research, and we have been responding to immediate local needs during the lockdown. This has included:

• Releasing our clinical staff from their academic duties to take up roles in local NHS trusts.  
• Training final year medical students to offer immediate frontline support to doctors and nurses in adult critical care wards at the Royal London Hospital before graduating. 
• Releasing diagnostic equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS.  
• Increasing Covid-19 testing capacity as part of the Testing Alliance, Queen Mary laboratories have been used to deliver large-scale diagnostic capabilities to increase testing capacity by 20,500 a day.
• Hosting Tower Hamlets’ first vaccination centre on our Mile End campus.
• Donating PPE equipment used in our research laboratories to a local hospice and a community group involved in providing meals to older residents in Tower Hamlets. 
• Making parking spaces on our campuses available for NHS workers.  
• Offering accommodation vacated by students to the NHS and Tower Hamlets Council.   
• Offering free hot and chilled meals for local families and homeless organisations during school holiday periods. 
• Encouraging and enabling Queen Mary staff and students to volunteer in their local communities through mutual aid initiatives, local authority opportunities and supporting community groups. 
• Launching the Arts and Culture Support Centre, a series of initiatives to support people working in the arts who are facing huge challenges as a result of Covid-19.