Whilst a positive result does not indicate immunity to the virus, the results are an important step in helping scientists to answer vital questions about who is affected, how it spreads through the community, and possible immune responses.
Key findings were:
- 4.3% of participants reported a positive result on their antibody test (206 participants)
- Almost twice as many young people reported a COVID-19 infection than those of their parents’ generation - 5.9 % of young people & 3.1 % of their parents age reported a positive antibody response
- Of those who tested positive, around a quarter were asymptomatic
Professor Nic Timpson, Children of the 90s’ Principal Investigator said: “We want to understand how many people in our study have had a COVID-19 infection, especially those who had an infection without even knowing it or with only mild symptoms. With decades of valuable health data to provide background to this pandemic, longitudinal research is key to learning more about COVID-19.”
The research will now form part of a national collaboration with the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC) which is led by Professor Paul Moss at the University of Birmingham. 300 Children of the 90s participants are being invited to take part in the ongoing study over the next 12 months, which will offer a unique insight into how people respond to the virus and the condition known as Long Covid.
“The immune system is critical to determining the outcome of all infections and indeed understanding so many of the unknowns about the pandemic” Professor Paul Moss, University of Birmingham.
Professor Timpson continued: “We hope to learn more about how the immune system responds and how long it takes for people to fully recover from COVID-19. As one of only two longitudinal studies invited to take part, our data is particularly important as we study young people who may be entirely asymptomatic but carrying the virus.
Participants can get back in touch to take part in future studies even if they haven’t done anything for a while. Simply send your name and date of birth to info@childrenofthe90s.ac.uk or text 07772 909090 to check if you are eligible.