COVID-19: Healthcare worker Bioresource: Immune and Pathogenesis [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
COVID-19: Healthcare worker Bioresource: Immune Protection and Pathogenesis in SARS-CoV-2 \n
IRAS ID
281844
Contact name
James C Moon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 14 days
Research summary
Modelling repurposed from pandemic influenza is currently informing all strategy for SARS-CoV-2 and the disease COVID-19. A customized disease specific understanding will be important to understand subsequent disease waves, vaccine development and therapeutics. For this reason, ISARIC (the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium) was set up in advance. This focuses on hospitalised and convalescent serum samples to understand severe illness and associated immune response.\nHowever, many subjects are seroconverting with mild or even subclinical disease. Information is needed about subclinical infection, the significance of baseline immune status and the earliest immune changes that may occur in mild disease to compare with those of SARS-CoV-2. There is also a need to understand the NHS workforce of healthcare workers (HCWs)\nWe have set up “COVID-19: Healthcare worker Bioresource: Immune Protection and Pathogenesis in SARS-CoV-2”. This urgent fieldwork aims to secure significant (n=400) sampling of healthcare workers (demographics, swabs, blood sampling) at baseline, and weekly whilst they are well and attending work, with acute sampling (if hospitalized, via ISARIC) and convalescent samples post illness. These will be used for specific questions around the impact of baseline immune function, the earliest changes of infection, and the biology of those who get non-hospitalized disease for local research and as a national resource. The proposal links directly with ISARIC and community COVID projects sampling children and the elderly: Reasonable estimates suggest the window for baseline sampling is closing fast (eg baseline needs to complete within 3 weeks). \n
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0149
Date of REC Opinion
17 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion