The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that it is expanding the current Vivaldi study to test thousands more care home staff and residents for their immune response to coronavirus.
Led by University College London (UCL), the Vivaldi 2 study will test 14,000 care home residents and staff quarterly for their immune response to COVID-19. The number of care homes taking part will increase from 100 to 340, testing approximately 4,500 residents and 9,500 staff.
The DHSC says these findings will help improve understanding of these vulnerable groups’ immune response to COVID-19 and help inform future treatments for the virus.
‘Expanding this brilliant study, with the support of UCL, is another step towards improving our understanding of the virus,’ said minister for care Helen Whately.
‘Testing people’s antibody reaction to COVID-19 is crucial in helping us to control the spread of the virus, particularly amongst people who are vulnerable.
‘The more we know about this virus and are able to control it, the safer it will be for people in care homes.’
