The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced new studies to track the impact of COVID-19 in the UK. The new surveillance studies will help the NHS plan for surges in demand, especially important as winter approaches and other seasonal demands stress capacity.
UKHSA and ONS will conduct the winter COVID-19 infection study to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community from November 2023 to March 2024 using lateral flow tests. This study follows a previous global gold standard study by UKHSA and ONS that examined over 11.5 million swab tests and 3 million blood tests from April 2020 to March 2023. This scaled-down version could see up to 200,000 people participate and over 32,000 lateral flow tests analysed weekly to provide insights into COVID-19 circulation amongst the wider community, enabling UKHSA to track changes in the infection hospitalisation rate, which will help assess the potential impact of COVID-19 on health services and detect any changes in the virus’s behaviour.
Read the Press Release from UKHSA