COVID-19 has created enormous health, social and economic challenges in the world. With three vaccines approved in Luxembourg, we have hope that our lives might return to a degree of normality. Vaccinating against COVID-19 is important to stop the ongoing worldwide pandemic.

This new platform that we’ll simply call the COVID-19 Vaccination series gathers and presents the insights, comments and viewpoints from experts of the University of Luxembourg. Its ambition is to shed light on the vaccination topic from many angles, make information available and help everyone make the most informed decision. Through interviews and videos these experts will address multiple topics around vaccines and vaccination - from safety and logistics to economic and psychological impacts.

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Interview with Paul Wilmes on superimmunity

Two years after the pandemic outbreak, researchers and scientists continue to look at the immune system's defence mechanisms against the coronavirus and its variants. Why do some people seem to have greater immunity to COVID-19 than others? How is it that some individuals have been infected several times and others have managed to avoid the virus in the last two years?

+read the article on covid19.public.lu in French or in Geman (published on 5 May 2022)

The booster increases protection against Omicron

Interview with Dirk Brenner and Stephanie Kreis

COVID-19 vaccine boosters are proving a useful tool against COVID-19 infection. Luxembourg has been offering booster doses of mRNA vaccines since December 2021 and the schedules have recently been shortened to three months following full vaccination. 

+read more (published on 14 February 2022)

Interview with Paul Wilmes - “Cross-vaccination yields higher protection against COVID-19”

Cross-vaccination started to be recommended by several countries. What is cross-vaccination and is there a benefit? We asked Prof. Paul Wilmes, spokesperson of the Research Luxembourg COVID-19 Task Force, to share the latest insights on this topic with us.

+read more (published on 1 September 2021)

Inside the Esch/Belval vaccination centre

At the end of April, the Luxembourg Government announced the start of the phase 6 during which people aged 16 to 55 will have a chance to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Many of our colleagues at the University of Luxembourg will soon get their invitation and thus we were interested to see how things work at the Esch/Belval vaccination centre. Who checks the appointments? Who gives the injection? Who watches over the vaccinated patients? Read our report from the Esch/Belval vaccination centre as the campaign is set to intensify in the coming weeks.

+read more (published on 11 May 2021)

The AstraZeneca vaccine: Better than its reputation

Among scientists, the consensus is that only a vaccination against COVID-19 can efficiently end the pandemic in a reasonable timescale. A number of different vaccines are currently used in national vaccination campaigns. In particular, the ChAdOx1-vaccine by AstraZeneca was recently discussed to be less beneficial and less safe than expected. In this article, we summarise some of the recent scientific findings and explain why the AstraZeneca vaccine is both highly efficient and absolutely necessary in the fight against SARS-CoV-2.

+read more (published on 1 April 2021)

Interview with Paul Heuschling - “Vaccines can protect the whole society.”

Pathogens such as viruses have always existed together with mankind. Why is it possible to protect yourself and others by using vaccines and what are the underlying principles? In this interview, Paul Heuschling, cell biologist and full Professor at the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, explains the process of vaccine development. He elucidates how they can protect us due to immunisation and what are the underlying principles of the new mRNA vaccination technology.

+read more (published on 11 March 2021)

Interview with Claus Vögele - “We do not have to justify our anxieties.”

The COVID-19 pandemic imposes a high level of stress on all of us and negatively affects our mental health. How can our psychological reactions during this pandemic, and in particular towards the vaccine be explained? Prof. Claus Vögele, Clinical and Health Psychologist at the University of Luxembourg, elucidates peoples’ psychological reactions– and underlines that we do not have to justify our anxieties.

+read more (published on 4 March 2021)

Interview with Dirk Brenner - “There is nothing to fear from the vaccination.”

The human immune system plays a key role in fighting the SARS-CoV-2. How does the vaccination help to prepare the immune system? And what happens on a cellular level when an immune response is generated? We spoke about these questions with Prof. Dirk Brenner, immunologist at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine and the Luxembourg Institute of Health.

+read more (published on 25 February 2021)

Interview with Stephanie Kreis - “We have to closely monitor the virus.”

The mRNA technology is often discussed in the context of vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2. Prof. Stephanie Kreis, Associate Professor at the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine, is a virologist by training who is now working in cancer research. She explained to us in her interview how virus mutations could affect current and future vaccination strategies.

+read more (published on 18 February 2021)

Interview with Conchita D'Ambrosio & Christos Koulovatianos - “The speed of intervention matters.”

The COVID-19 pandemic not only challenges our everyday routines, but also the overall economy. We spoke about this topic with Prof. Conchita d’Ambrosio from the Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences and Prof. Christos Koulovatianos, working at the Department of Finance. How is the economy affected by the pandemic – and what can we expect from the COVID-19 vaccinations in that context?

+read more (published on 11 February 2021)

Interview with Gilbert Massard - “Vaccines have prevented many disasters.”

In this article Gilbert Massard, Director of Medical Education at the Department of Life Sciences and Medicine tackles the question what we can expect from the COVID-19 vaccines and how they perform compared to previously developed vaccines against other diseases.

+read more (published on 4 February 2021)

Interview with Paul Wilmes - “Everybody is susceptible to SARS-CoV-2.”

In this article Paul Wilmes, Professor at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) addresses the differences between the available vaccines and exlplains why people are reacting differently to them.

+read more (published on 28 January 2021)

Interview with Rudi Balling - “The COVID-19 vaccine's here: Why it's safe and important to get vaccinated.”

In this article Rudi Balling, Director of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) addresses the safety and importance of the COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, he explains the question many people have been asking: “How is it possible that the vaccines were developed so fast?”

+read more (published on 21 January 2021)