Trial Status: Closed to recruitment - in follow up
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus that has resulted in a 2020 pandemic
of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). As this is a novel virus, humans have no protective immunity.
The spectrum of symptoms and severity of COVID-19 disease appears to be broad. The majority of individuals suffer a
mild respiratory illness, some individuals display no symptoms at all, whilst a few experience life-threatening,
potentially fatal illness. Unfortunately, the symptoms of COVID-19 are indistinguishable without a test from many other
seasonal infections, like influenza. This has led to extreme pressure on health-care systems due to staff shortages
through illness and social distancing measures implemented by the government to control the spread of infection.
This study is focused on health care workers who have had an illness consistent with COVID-19. We will also have the
potential to recruit family members if recruitment numbers allow. We are going to offer an antibody test to the
participant which tells someone whether they have been exposed to the virus and mounted an immune response
against it. We will also ask for blood and saliva samples so that we can investigate the protective immune response to
this virus. This is important for designing vaccine studies and developing therapeutic agents in the future. We will
follow up participants for 6 months to see whether further infection develops.