Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research, surveillance, mitigation, and management is cross-disciplinary and involves the expertise of different types of scientists and other professionals, including:

• Disaster response and emergency preparedness experts, who are assisting at regional, national, and global levels to respond to and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• Supply chain management experts, who are helping to source and distribute healthcare equipment, PPE, and essential consumer items during a time of global shortages and transport restrictions. 

• Healthcare professionals, including infectious disease specialists, immunologists, respiratory consultants, and ENT specialists, who are assisting with the management and treatment of COVID-19 patients.

• Epidemiologists, who research the distribution and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and who develop strategies to reduce the risk and mitigate the effect of COVID-19.

• Mathematicians, who create mathematical models of SARS-CoV-2 to predict how it will spread and the impact this will have. They can adjust different variables to forecast the effect these may have in real life (e.g., the use of preventative methods such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing). 

• Virologists, who undertake SARS-CoV-2 research to better understand the unique characteristics of this coronavirus and the impact these have on its transmission, virulence, etc. 

• Biochemists, who help develop COVID-19 diagnostic kits that can either detect a current infection (DNA-based) or a past infection (antibody-based).

• Engineers, who are helping to repurpose manufacturing plants for the design and production of face masks, face shields, respirators, and ventilators to assist with the shortages faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• Bioinformaticians, who study coronavirus genomes and help to map the likely origin of COVID-19 outbreaks based on the small genetic differences that arise over time. 

• Pharmacologists, who help to discover, develop, and test new/repurposed COVID-19 drugs and vaccines.

• Public health practitioners, who look for healthcare solutions at the community, population, national, and global levels and develop appropriate public health strategies and policies.

• Chemists, who help to formulate hand sanitizers, wipes, and other disinfecting agents to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. 

• Medical/science writers, who assist with online research and the writing of COVID-19-related content and reports, COVID-19 fact-checking, performing in-depth COVID-19 literature reviews, and formulating COVID-19 research grants. 

Given their variety of specializations, COVID-19 scientists and consultants are employed in a variety of sectors, including pharma, biotechnology, academia, government, health services, and research institutes. Most COVID-19 experts have an advanced degree such as a master’s, Ph.D. or M.D.

To hire a COVID-19 consultant, the fee generally ranges from 40–150 USD per hour depending on how specialized the required skillset is and the level of experience necessary. 

The hourly fee can be negotiated upfront based on the estimated number of project hours, or a flat fee (for projects of a defined scope) can be discussed. If you need short-term/temporary access to COVID-19 expert services, then hiring a freelance consultant on our platform is a convenient and cost-effective way to interact with these professionals.

The best way to attract the top Kolabtree freelancers in this field is to make your project description informative. You will need to provide information on the following:

• Skills required (e.g., lateral flow-based diagnostic development)

• What the project area is (e.g., COVID-19 diagnostics)

• What the project entails (e.g., developing a rapid, lateral flow test to detect previous SARS-CoV-2 infections)

• What the deliverables are (be specific about what you need the outputs to be)

• Duration of the project (provide an estimate of how many hours work you will need per week/by when you need the project to be completed)

• By when you need to hire (having more leeway on this will give you more time to choose the best expert for your needs)

• Your budget (per hour or fixed fee)

If you are unsure what exactly is required, providing as much detail as possible will allow the experts to still make an informed bid for your project and suggest the best routes forward. 

Kolabtree provides a safe and efficient platform for you to rapidly connect with COVID-19 experts who can assist you with moving your projects forward.