The government’s Covid survey, considered the “gold standard” of surveillance worldwide, has been suspended for several months.
A weekly survey published by the Office for National Statistics has become the most reliable indicator of how many people in the UK are infected with the coronavirus at any given time.
It has been put on hold for several months after ministers failed to confirm funding for the scheme beyond the end of this month.
I announced in January that its future was in doubt after the government declined to confirm whether it would continue past the end of this fiscal year.
The contractors working on the project were told that their work would soon be over. ONS is said to have informed participants that the program will be suspended after March.
While Covid is no longer seen as the biggest threat to the NHS as it was at the height of the pandemic, scientists have warned that the UK will be “flying blind” if research on the infection is halted, especially if the new option does nothing that Omicron should be doing. .
Even a break of a few months would leave a data gap for scientists to track the spread.
The British Health Safety Agency said the approach to Covid-19 surveillance is “actively reviewed…to ensure it is proportionate and cost-effective, and is being considered alongside surveillance for a range of other infectious diseases that pose a similar risk to the population.” health.”
Since its launch in April 2020, the ONS survey has been key to discovering new variants, community spread of the virus, and details about Long Covid. More than 11 million Pap smears and 3 million household blood tests were analyzed.
There will be some surveillance of positive tests in patients in hospitals and nursing homes, and vaccination rates will continue to be monitored, but this decision means a significant reduction in virus surveillance.
Professor Stephen Riley, Director General of Data, Analytics and Surveillance at UKHSA, said: “The Covid-19 Infection Survey has been an important tool in helping us understand Covid-19 and we would like to thank all participants for their tremendous contributions.
“We will continue to ensure that our monitoring activities remain appropriate and cost-effective as we transition to the Living with Covid-19 program. Covid-19 survey respondents will have a unique opportunity to support future surveillance activities, and we and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) look forward to working with them in the future.
“We remain committed to monitoring the threat of Covid-19 with our suite of surveillance systems and genomics capabilities that report infection rates, hospitalizations and risks of new variants.”
Sir Ian Diamond, National Statistician and Chief Executive Officer of ONS, said: “The pandemic has been a huge test of our ability to quickly collect and analyze data, and the unique value of Covid-19 infection research has been recognized around the world.
“The data from this study have had an incredible impact on the country’s response to the pandemic, and its success gives us confidence that it will be able to withstand greater surveillance activities in the future.
“As the UKHSA works to validate its approach to Covid-19 surveillance, we intend to continue to gather valuable insights into communities’ experiences with Covid-19 and other respiratory infections and long-term Covid, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with CIS members. work together to make it.
Professor Sarah Walker, Principal Investigator of the study and Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford, said: “The review of Covid-19 infection is an outstanding achievement, the achievements of which have been attributed to the dedicated contributions of hundreds of thousands of people living in all 4 countries of the UK, as well as several thousands of study staff who initially visited homes during the lockdown.
“The data collected will remain valuable for many years to come in order to learn more about how COVID-19 infections and immunization affect future health outcomes.”