UK Call to Assess Cornavirus Impact and Implications 

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) have issued two highlight calls for research proposals on the risk factors, transmission and prevalence of the COVID-19 virus SARS-CoV-2, that will help inform policy decisions during the pandemic.

New cases of COVID-19 continue to occur in a variety of settings despite the containment measures. The first call is for proposals studying routes of transmission of the virus focusing on which groups are most likely to become infected and in what environments transmissions occur.

The second highlight notice calls for research to understand risk factors, transmission and prevalence of the virus in groups at high risk of infection, in particular health and social care workers and residents in nursing and residential care homes.

Understanding the levels of infection (including asymptomatic) in these groups, relative to the general population and the factors that are driving this will be critical for reducing transmission, morbidity and mortality.

UKRI and NIHR have already funded a study to assess healthcare workers’ risk acquiring coronavirus infection, to better inform health and safety measures to protect staff and patients. The Evaluation to Inform Response Study (SAFER) study will test 200 healthcare workers at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for SARS-CoV-2 repeatedly over time.

The second highlight notice is also calling for research into the role that children play in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection which remains unclear; more evidence on, eg, movement in and around the school environment and transmission impact  is needed to inform policy decisions around exiting the lockdown measures.

To date the two organisations have jointly invested £24.6 million into 27 research projects to respond to the pandemic, including research on treatments, vaccines and the spread of the virus.

For more details visit www.ukri.org