Mental health problems have been increasingly recognised as one of the most significant health concerns for children and adolescents in developed countries. The World Health Organization estimates that about 25% of the world’s population experiences a mental health problem at som...

As they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide have increasingly looked to digital technologies in support of public health measures for contact tracing. Digital proximity tracing, an approach that typically use smartphones or purpose-built devices to capture anony...

In the light of fears that the SARS-CoV-2 virus might be transmitted via cash – fears that were stoked by statements in the media and from public authorities – this paper aims to address the following issues: (1) to provide a descriptive account of the change in the circulation o...

This report has been prepared as part of the Lagging Regions project of the JRC, which aimed to support the implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies in selected low-growth and less developed regions in EU Member States. In April 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 g...

Although infectious diseases can affect everyone, sex and gender can significantly impact immune responses and the course of the disease in the human body. Worldwide statistics show that more men than women suffer severe effects of the COVID-19 disease and are dying of acute infe...

Never before in history have the citizens of the European Union had to face such unprecedented uncertainty. The COVID-19 crisis has brought into sharp relief the fragility of our way of life and of the assumptions our societies and economies are based on. While the battle to flat...

This report describes the overall outcome of a series of audits in Member States to evaluate the system of official controls aimed at verifying – and where necessary enforcing- the implementation of European Union food hygiene requirements, in particular those aimed at preventing...

At first, we did not understand what was happening to us. The pandemic has changed our habits, our pace of life, our relationships and the way we see things. New expressions have entered our everyday vocabulary, such as COVID-19, lockdown, coronavirus, mask, quarantine... followe...

Cast your mind back 12 months to when European countries were grappling with their first clusters of COVID-19. There were no proven treatments, not enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and no vaccines. In fact, at that time, there was concern that developing a vaccine could...