Virus Watch: Understanding how COVID-19 spreads in the community, how sick people become, the types of symptoms they experience and what activities put people at risk of catching it

Virus Watch: Understanding community incidence, symptom profiles, and transmission of COVID-19 in relation to population movement and behaviour

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN32077121

Enrollment

52500

Registered

2021-03-12

Start date

2020-06-22

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2022-09-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 infection) Infections and Infestations

Interventions

In addition to regular online surveys throughout the study, participants will be invited to follow different schedules of antibody testing and nasal/throat swabs for PCR testing. Virus Watch is an ope

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Households self-select into the study 2. Participants need to join as a household (all must take part) 3. They need to have internet connection and email 4. At least one person in the household can read English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Number of householders exceeds 6 2. Those without an internet connection or an email address available to them as they will be unable to register 3. There is no adult in the household who can read English

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Study 1: Online survey cohort: 1. Incidence of respiratory infection symptoms, including COVID-19 disease case definitions measured using self-reported weekly questionnaires (June 2020-August 2021) 2. Effectiveness and impact of recommended COVID-19 control measures including testing, isolation, social distancing, respiratory and hand hygiene measures on the risk of respiratory infection measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaires, self-reported antigen data (June 2020-August 2021) 3. Frequency of adherence with public-health recommendations for these control measures measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaires (June 2020-August 2021) 4. Proportion of community infections that result in hospital admissions and death measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaire (June 2020-August 2021) and linked data quarterly and up to 5 years after the study ends 5. Vaccine effectiveness against asymptomatic and symptomatic infections measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaires self-reported antigen results (June 2020-August 2021), finger-prick antibody data (Feb-Aug 2021), linked data quarterly and up to 5 years after the study ends Study 2: Laboratory testing sub-cohort: 1. Incidence of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 measured using Virus Watch laboratory antigen data (December 2020-May 2021) and self-reported antigen results (June 2020-Aug 2021), and linked data quarterly and up to 5 years after the study ends 2. Incidence of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 in those with non-respiratory presentations measured using Virus Watch laboratory antigen data (December 2020-May 2021) and self-reported antigen results (June 2020-Aug 2021) 3. Incidence of hospitalisation among PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases measured using Virus Watch laboratory antigen da	—

Measure

Time frame

Study 1: Online survey cohort: 1. Incidence of respiratory infection symptoms, including COVID-19 disease case definitions measured using self-reported weekly questionnaires (June 2020-August 2021) 2. Effectiveness and impact of recommended COVID-19 control measures including testing, isolation, social distancing, respiratory and hand hygiene measures on the risk of respiratory infection measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaires, self-reported antigen data (June 2020-August 2021) 3. Frequency of adherence with public-health recommendations for these control measures measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaires (June 2020-August 2021) 4. Proportion of community infections that result in hospital admissions and death measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaire (June 2020-August 2021) and linked data quarterly and up to 5 years after the study ends 5. Vaccine effectiveness against asymptomatic and symptomatic infections measured using self-reported baseline, weekly and monthly questionnaires self-reported antigen results (June 2020-August 2021), finger-prick antibody data (Feb-Aug 2021), linked data quarterly and up to 5 years after the study ends Study 2: Laboratory testing sub-cohort: 1. Incidence of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 measured using Virus Watch laboratory antigen data (December 2020-May 2021) and self-reported antigen results (June 2020-Aug 2021), and linked data quarterly and up to 5 years after the study ends 2. Incidence of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 in those with non-respiratory presentations measured using Virus Watch laboratory antigen data (December 2020-May 2021) and self-reported antigen results (June 2020-Aug 2021) 3. Incidence of hospitalisation among PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases measured using Virus Watch laboratory antigen da

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
There are no secondary outcome measures	—

Countries

United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactJana Kovar

j.kovar@ucl.ac.uk+44 (0)20 3108 6281

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026