Virus Watch, England and Wales
Virus Watch collected personal and special category data to help inform the national public health response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Virus Watch data will help to inform NHS planning and the national public health response to COVID-19. We will share data from the study that falls under the following categories.
Baseline survey
Collects basic demographic information including sex, date of birth, age in years, ethnicity. It also includes details of the household structure, socioeconomic status including household income.
The survey collects health data used for the study including existing medical conditions (general and COVID-related) and access to health during the pandemic. A number of behaviours activities, contact with others and social distancing during the pandemic are collected.
Weekly survey
Collects data about any illnesses within the household during each week and the results of any COVID-19 tests performed. The survey collects information on behaviours during illness of the household.
Since January 2021, the weekly survey has also collected data on vaccination status of household members.
Monthly surveys
Collect regular data on contact patterns of household throughout the pandemic, regardless of symptoms or illnesses in the household. Each month additional bespoke questions have been asked in the monthly surveys in order to inform important policy questions at the time, including:
- vaccination intention
- household overcrowding status
- occupational health data
- changes to income and employment
- understanding of public health guidance
- mental health questions on anxiety and depression
- updated clinical risk factors
Laboratory data
Includes information on the results of antibody tests for a subset of participants including nucleocapsid and spike antibody levels. It also includes polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results for participants that took part in home COVID testing for Virus Watch.
All data hosted on the Integrated Data Service (IDS) are de-identified.