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Large scale study of coronavirus immunity begins
The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that a major long-term study will track spread of coronavirus in general population.
Up to 20,000 people are being asked to take part in the government-funded study to further track the extent of the coronavirus spread across England, Scotland and Wales. The research will measure blood antibodies to help determine what proportion of the population has already had the infection, the duration of immunity after being infected, and why the virus affects people differently.
The study, which was developed with the Wellcome Trust and will be led by UK Biobank, forms part of Pillar 4 of the Government’s COVID-19 testing strategy to conduct UK-wide surveillance testing to learn more about the spread of the virus. The study participants will be chosen from existing, consented UK Biobank volunteers, as well as their adult children and grandchildren.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Our response to this pandemic is rightly guided by the science and based on the best available evidence - so I’m determined to do everything we can to learn more about coronavirus. This UK Biobank study will build our understanding of the rate of COVID-19 infection in the general population and, importantly, it will add to our knowledge about the risk factors that mean the virus can affect individuals differently. Alongside the ongoing ONS and Imperial College research, the results of this study will assist our virus modelling and inform future plans for managing the pandemic.”
This is the third coronavirus surveillance testing survey to be announced. The UK Biobank research will complement data generated by the ONS population study. Both studies will take blood samples to provide data on how many people have antibodies to the virus.
The Imperial College/Ipsos Mori testing programme is using swabs to understand the level of active infection in participants. It is also undertaking user acceptance testing of antibody tests designed for home use.
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