OCTAVE: Observational Cohort Trial -T-cells Antibodies and Vaccine Efficacy in SARS-CoV-2

Professor Pam Kearns, Director of the University of Birmingham's Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU), which will be running the study, said: "Current evidence shows that people with these medical conditions may not obtain optimal protection from established vaccines. "Patients with significant underlying diseases were generally excluded from COVID-19 vaccine studies to date - it is now important to confirm that the COVID-19 vaccines work well in such conditions. "We are pleased to be supporting this important nationally collaborative study that will inform the best use of the COVID-19 vaccines to protect these vulnerable patients." The OCTAVE study will investigate the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines being used in the UK in 2021 in up to 5,000 people within these patient populations. Using a variety of state-of-the-art immune tests performed on blood samples taken before and/or after COVID-19 vaccination, researchers will determine patients' COVID-19 immune response and, therefore, the likelihood that vaccines will fully protect these groups from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Scientists do not yet know how long COVID-19 vaccines provide immunity for, and there may be an ongoing vaccination requirement against the disease for years to come. This may be especially so in people with weakened immune systems, due to drug treatments and underlying disease. Results from the OCTAVE study will help to inform how best to vaccinate patients with chronic conditions, and protect them from SAAR-CoV-2 infection. Professor Fiona Watt, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, which funded the study, said: "This study is investigating the response to the new COVID-19 vaccines in people whose immune systems make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and other infections. This will help ensure that those more at risk from infection receive the best protection possible."