In January 2020, ISARIC launched the dedicated COVID-19 Clinical Characterisation Protocol (CCP) and Case Report Forms (CRF) as well as a free data management platform for researchers to upload their clinical data, globally. The database was open and publicly accessible from 23 January, 2020, when less than a thousand COVID-19 cases had been reported globally.
On 13 February, the first patient record was successfully uploaded onto the platform. Barely a month later, this number reached 10K records. Now, 18 months into the pandemic, there are more than half-a-million records, and the ISARIC clinical data platform has grown to become the largest international individual patient dataset of COVID-19 hospitalised cases.
On its 10th anniversary, ISARIC demonstrates the crucial role of global preparedness and collaboration for advancing knowledge on infectious disease pandemics.
‘This is what we prepared for, and we successfully facilitated global collaboration and furthered the knowledge on COVID-19,’ said Sir Peter Horby, ISARIC Executive Director and Oxford Professor of emerging infectious diseases.