Study will follow 10,000 staff for at least 12 months with regular blood and swab tests
Thousands of health workers have signed up to take part in a trial to examine the risk of reinfection with Covid-19.
A total of 10,000 NHS staff have been recruited by Public Health England (PHE) for the SARS-CoV-2 Immunity and Reinfection Evaluation study, known as SIREN, which is exploring whether specific Covid-19 antibodies provide immunity, the health body announced on 20 August.
“Every day we learn more and more about the impacts of becoming infected with Covid-19, but we don’t know if you can get it again, if you can pass it on, or if you develop immunity,” said Susan Hopkins, PHE’s incident director. “We urgently need to find out the answers to these questions as rapidly as possible.”
James Bethell, a Conservative peer and parliamentary undersecretary of state for innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “Understanding our body’s response to Covid-19 is a critical step in beating this horrible virus.
“That’s why this clinical study, one of the largest in the world, is so important. It will help us understand the mystery of our antibody response to Covid-19.”
The study will follow participants for at least 12 months, with regular blood and swab tests. It will also explore how factors such as ethnicity, age or gender affect the chances of infection and the extent of any immunity. Preliminary results are expected in the winter.
Recruitment in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is due to begin in the coming weeks.
The news comes after the government announced the creation of the National Institute for Health Protection, which will bring together PHE, the infection-tracking organisation NHS Test and Trace and the analytical capability of the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which provides epidemiological expertise.