On 13th March 2020, a week before the first UK lockdown, a group of researchers designed the COVIDsortium study. In one week, they had designed, written and initiated the study – which started on the day of UK lockdown with the first 400 Healthcare workers recruited 9 days later.
We aimed to capture pre-existing immunity, the earliest changes of infection and the changes that occur over time – and to make these samples available to researchers – focusing particularly on mild disease.
With initial funding from the investigators themselves, their friends and families (£300K from Just Giving), funding was rapidly secured from major banks, hedgefunds, private foundations and philanthropists.
18 months later, the study has expanded to 6 hospitals and internationally to Capetown, with a total of 2000 subjects. In London, 5 ethics amendments have permitted the study of each variant as it emerged and the impact of vaccine 1, 2 and boosters.
With COVIDsortium, a group of immunologists, infectious disease doctors and scientists have assembled to address emergent questions for the benefit of society.
Twenty papers have been published to date including papers in Lancet, Science, Nature covered by more than 1000 media articles, influencing local and national policy, making it one of the science success stories of the pandemic.
List of publications:
- Wellcome open: Study design
- PLOS1: academic research impact of COVID
- Lancet: Serial falling PCR levels in HCWs
- Circulation: Myocardial injury from severe COVID
- Lancet: follow-up PCR positivity levels in HCWs
- Science Immunology: T cell, serology and neutralising antibody heterogeneity in mild disease
- European Heart Journal: Patterns of myocardial injury from troponin positive COVID
- Lancet E-BioMed: antibody dynamics in mild SARS-CoV-2 infection
- Jacc Imaging: cardiovascular late effects of mild disease (none)
- Lancet: second booster vaccine not necessary after prior covid
- Lancet E-ClinMed: infection risk, BAME and health role.
- Science: Impact of vaccination on T and B cell response to variants
- The Lancet microbe : viral transcriptomics
- Nature Abortive infection: Seronegative x-reactive T cells to rna polymerase
- CELL: HOST-MICROBE in press. Prior infection with variants differentially boosts after J and J vaccine
- Science: first encounter with COVID-19 shapes future immune response to new infections