The ImmunoCOVID19 study aims to inform care and advice for children with a condition or therapy that makes them more vulnerable to infections through online questionnaires for their families.
Dr Hans de Graaf, consultant in paediatric rheumatology at University Hospital Southampton, is leading a new study to gather data on how coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, affects children who are more vulnerable to infection.
The study, known as ImmunoCOVID19, will monitor children and young people who have a condition or are taking medication that affects their immune system during the coronavirus pandemic.
Parents and their children who take part will complete a weekly questionnaire that takes less than 10 minutes to fill in. The child does not need to have coronavirus infection to take part.
Gathering evidence
The information currently available from the most severely affected countries suggests that these conditions and drugs do not seem to affect the response to coronavirus in children.
However, as many families have expressed concern about the impact the virus will have on their children, the researchers decided to collect data that will enable them to give more informed advice.
Participants will be asked to complete the same weekly 10 minute online questionnaire until disease activity in the UK lessens, up to a maximum duration of a year.
The information they collect from the online weekly questionnaires will allow the study team to see if more children who are thought to be more vulnerable catch coronavirus or if they are more severely affected.
How to take part
You can find out more about the study and how you and your child can take part on our featured research study webpage.
Posted on Thursday 2 April 2020