COV-AD: COVID infection in patients with antibody deficiency

Our previous study found that individuals with immunodeficiency are more likely to develop severe COVID-19. We also know that our patients with immune deficiency respond less well to vaccination than the general public and may be less well protected against future infection. Furthermore, concern has also been raised that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can mutate more rapidly in individuals with immune deficiency, potentially posing a public health risk.

Therefore, understanding the immune response following COVID-19 infection and vaccination is therefore of the upmost importance for individual with immune deficiency and the general public.

By recruiting 1050 patients with antibody deficiency, this multicentre study involving Clinical Immunology centres across the United Kingdom, will aim to answer important questions about the immune response to COVID-19 infection in individuals with immune deficiency and provide insight into whether vaccination will offer effective protection from the disease in the future. We will do this through antibody and T cell testing.

In partnership with the Saving Lives charity, who have pioneered remote virus and antibody testing for patients who are shielding, the study also hopes to estimate how many patients with antibody deficiency have been asymptomatically infected with the virus, how many are unable to clear the virus and also what factors make patients with immune deficiency so susceptible to COVID-19. In doing so, we hope to understand what individual and public health measures are most likely to protect our patients from COVID-19 in the future.