FOREWORD When this survey was conducted at the end of 2020, most of Australia was relatively free of COVID-19. Victoria was just coming out of a wave of infection that had locked down much of the state for 112 days. There was the hope of vaccines arriving in the new year and a swift transition to a post COVID normal. Since then, new waves of COVID-19 have swept the globe, once again placing health systems under great pressure and greatly impacting our daily lives and work. At the time of publication of this report, Sydney is in a lockdown that has already run for weeks; numbers are still climbing and other states are grappling with the prospect of potential outbreaks. In this context, the findings of this second survey of researchers remain as relevant as several months ago, and it is all the more important that we act on the lessons it gives us. Adapting and protecting our health and medical research workforce and the vital work they undertake for us all, has to be a national priority.
Nadia Levin CEO and Managing Director Research Australia
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