“…Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), originally recorded in Wuhan, China in 2019, has become a global pandemic that has significantly impacted how the world lives and functions (Perez, Perez, & Roman, 2020 ), as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 11th March 2020. Within academia, the pandemic has impacted how teaching and learning and research activities are conducted, with challenges caused by the measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus influencing all decisions made (Khoza-Shangase, Moroe, & Neille, 2021 ; Perez et al, 2020 ; Sebothoma, Khoza-Shangase, Masege, & Mol, 2021 ). As far as research is concerned, significant challenges have been encountered in terms of the planning of clinical research designs, sourcing of funding for research as research priorities change, as well as significant questions around ethical clearance of studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”