Coronavirus STORY (Serum Testing of Representative Youngsters)

This COVID-19 Rapid Response award is jointly funded (50:50) between the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research. The figure displayed is the total award amount of the two funders combined, with each partner contributing equally towards the project. This COVID-19 paediatric sero-epidemiology study will adapt an existing national researchnetwork and ethically-approved NIHR-funded study to collect sufficient childhood andteenage serum samples for near real-time monitoring of increases in paediatric COVID-19sero-positivity rates across the UK in 2020.The importance of sero-epidemiological monitoring is emphasised in the Public HealthEngland (PHE) pandemic influenza protocol, currently being adapted in response to theCOVID-19 threat. This requires the monthly collection of 1000 serum samples, including100 per month in each of the 0-4, 5-9, 10-14 and 15-19 year old age-groups. This isessential to understanding the rates of symptomatic and asymptomatic infection inchildren, a population that are the predominant transmitters of most respiratory viruses.This information is in turn crucial to understanding the severity of COVID-19 disease inchildren, as well as modelling the spread of this virus through the community and planningan effective public health response.The challenge of obtaining blood samples from representative cohorts of children (ratherthan residual sera from sampling for clinical purposes) had already led to the OxfordVaccine Group (OVG), PHE and seven regional partners throughout England establishingthe 'What's the STORY (Serum Testing of Representative Youngsters)' network toevaluate antibody levels against vaccine-preventable diseases. This study hascommenced, and with additional funding would be expanded to collect 3200 samplesthroughout 2020, including collection of individual level information on recent respiratoryillnesses and relevant medical history. Further extension would be possible if needed withappropriate resourcing. This study will form a rapid, responsive and crucial component ofthe UK response to this emerging global threat.