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Coronavirus research Autumn 2021

A study to help us understand the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

UK Biobank participants and some of their relatives are taking part in urgent research into the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Thanks to your participation and the data that we already hold about you, UK Biobank is at the forefront of health research and is in a unique position to carry out vital research into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 116,000 of you volunteered to participate, including – for the first time – children and grandchildren of UK Biobank participants. This extraordinary response enabled us to meet our target and select 20,000 individuals, who represented a varied sample of the UK population. 

We would now like participants in this study to provide another blood sample and to complete another short survey looking at possible COVID-19 symptoms since November 2020 (when the last blood samples were collected for this study). The primary objective of this study extension is to determine how long antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 infection last over an 18-month period following infection.

We will be sending you a finger-prick blood sampling kit so that you can take a small blood sample, which you will then need to post to a laboratory for analysis. Please read the updated information sheet and frequently asked questions to learn more about this sample collection and what action to take if you do (or do not) want to take part.

The kit you receive this time will be different to the one in the video – please visit our “How to take a sample” page for more information.

“I thought taking part might help to lessen the impact of this current situation and I wanted to help however I could. I am sure the data will be beneficial to the scientists and it may in the long run help to keep people like my mum and dad safer too. It is a tiny contribution to make for potentially a big benefit.”

A relative taking part in the study

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