Your data, fighting coronavirus. The COVIDENCE UK study, led by Queen Mary University in east London is now up and running and needs to recruit at least 12,000 people aged 16 or over from across the UK.
The aim of COVIDENCE UK is to identify the highest risk factors for COVID-19 / coronavirus and needs as diverse group of people as they can find.
And where better to find a mix of people than the East End?
You can sign up here and feel great for the rest of the day.
Or feel miserable, your call. Just sign up.
Those who have already had COVID-19 (proven or suspected) are needed and those who have not; those with underlying conditions such as diabetes, lung disease, heart disease and high blood pressure and those without; those who smoke and those who do not; every ethnic background, colour, creed is needed.
The five-year study will gather information that will help scientists to understand why certain people appear to be at greater risk than others.
Which means you so please sign up.
Once you have registered then you will need to complete a detailed initial questionnaire, covering your medical history, lifestyle and behaviour in terms of social distancing, hand-washing etc.
Simple monthly updates will then track any new symptoms and the study will also automatically draw on patients’ NHS records to include information on test results and hospitalisations.
Early results in next few weeks?
“If we can reach our 12,000 target, particularly if a significant proportion of participants have already had a positive test for COVID-19, then we should be able to get some early results in the next few weeks,” says Adrian Martineau, Professor of Respiratory Infection and Immunity at Queen Mary University of London who is leading the research.
“We also hope to understand why the severity of the disease differs so much across individuals, with some having no symptoms to otherwise healthy young people dying from the disease. The answers to these questions could help us to devise new strategies to reduce infection risk, while we are waiting for an effective vaccine to come along.”
“We know that people with certain medical conditions seem to be at increased risk of coronavirus disease. However, we don’t know why this is.”
BAME casualties of COVID-19
Professor Martineau’s team also hopes the data they gather will help to explain why the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 include a high proportion of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
They also aim to see how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting people’s mental well-being – and vice versa.
Research funded by Barts Charity
King’s College London, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Edinburgh, Queen’s University Belfast and Swansea University are research partners and the work is funded by the Barts Charity which is also doing great work in the pandemic battle.
Just in case we forget to mention it you can sign up for the COVIDENCE UK study here.
You know you want to – don’t ya? ‘Course you do!
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