About the study

We are trying to understand why some people make a full recovery after COVID-19 while others go on to develop long-term symptoms. To do this, we are looking for volunteers to help us do research into the immune response following infection.

This is part of the Long Covid research programme funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR).

Eligibility

We are looking for people in any of these groups:

• Never had COVID-19 but have received COVID-19 vaccine doses
• Had COVID-19 and made a full recovery within 4 weeks (and may have since received vaccine doses)
• Had COVID-19 and have since suffered from the long-term symptoms described as Long Covid. These may include fatigue, ‘brain fog’, exhaustion when walking, breathlessness, chest pain and other persistent symptoms.

How the study works

We will email you a short questionnaire and ask you to return it to us for analysis. We will then invite people showing specific sets of symptoms to pay a visit to the Hammersmith Hospital Campus where we will take a small blood test (about the size of an egg cup of blood). This will be taken to our lab for analysis of immunity to the virus and other features of immune function, including autoimmunity and immune cell subsets. We may invite you for a repeat test around 4 months later. We may also ask you to donate a stool sample, allowing us to look for any evidence of persistent virus.

How to participate

If you might be interested in taking part please contact the investigator, Professor Danny Altmann: altmannlongcovidstudy@imperial.ac.uk. 

You will be sent an information sheet and asked if you wish to give consent to take part in this study.

Our team