Why am I being invited to take part?

A GP or other health professional from your GP practice thinks you may have a chest infection or worsening heart failure, asthma or COPD. These illnesses can be caused by many germs including viruses like COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and bacteria like pneumococcus. We are inviting you to take part because we want to understand the impact they have on patients and the NHS.

Why are we doing this research?

We want to understand:

• the impact these illnesses have on patients and the NHS;
• how many of these illnesses could be prevented by vaccination (e.g. with COVID vaccines and other vaccines that are being developed);
• what groups of patients might benefit most from vaccination.

What will happen to me if I choose to take part?

Collecting information about you and your illness

With your permission, we will collect information from your GP records about you and your illness. We will ask you some extra questions, like whether you have ever smoked.

Collecting samples

To find out which germ has caused your illness, we will take a nose and throat swab, and a saliva sample. These tests are being done for the study and will not affect your medical care.

Symptom diary

We will ask you to fill out a diary about your illness every day until your symptoms have gone, for up to 28 days.

Follow-up diary

If you have not fully recovered from your illness by 4 weeks (28 days) after starting the study, we will ask you to complete a short follow-up diary at 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 12 months. Once you have fully recovered from your illness, you can stop the follow-up diary.

The symptom and follow-up diaries can be completed on paper, over the phone or online. If you choose to complete the diary online, we will ask your permission to send you a daily text message with a link to the online diary. If you forget to complete it, we will send you a reminder via text message.

Vouchers

As a thank you and to reimburse people for their time, we will send people who take part:

• a £20 voucher for providing samples
• a £20 voucher for completing the symptom diary and
• a £10 voucher for each follow-up survey (up to £40)

I find it difficult to read or fill out forms. Can I take part?

We would love you to take part. Please watch the explanation films to find out more about the study. Our team is here to help and can talk you through what to do. Let us know how we can help.