Design and implementation of a national SARS-CoV-2 monitoring program in England: REACT-1 Study

<p><strong>Data System:</strong> The REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) Study was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care in England to provide reliable and timely estimates of prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Co...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elliott, P, Whitaker, M, Tang, D, Eales, O, Steyn, N, Bodinier, B, Wang, H, Elliott, J, Atchison, C, Ashby, D, Barclay, W, Taylor, G, Darzi, A, Cooke, G, Ward, H, Donnelly, C, Riley, S, Chadeau-Hyam, M
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: American Public Health Association 2023
Description
Summary:<p><strong>Data System:</strong> The REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) Study was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care in England to provide reliable and timely estimates of prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection over time, by person and place.</p> <p><strong>Data Collection/Processing:</strong> The study team (researchers from Imperial College London and its logistics partner Ipsos) wrote to named individuals aged 5 years and older in random cross-sections of the population of England, using the National Health Service list of patients registered with a general practitioner (near-universal coverage) as a sampling frame. We collected data over 2 to 3 weeks approximately every month across 19 rounds of data collection from May 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022.</p> <p><strong>Data Analysis/Dissemination:</strong> We have disseminated the data and study materials widely via the study Web site, preprints, publications in peer-reviewed journals, and the media. We make available data tabulations, suitably anonymized to protect participant confidentiality, on request to the study’s data access committee.</p> <p><strong>Public Health Implications:</strong> The study provided inter alia real-time data on SARS-CoV-2 prevalence over time, by area, and by sociodemographic variables; estimates of vaccine effectiveness; and symptom profiles, and detected emergence of new variants based on viral genome sequencing.</p>