I’m Emma Rourke and I lead the Health Analysis and Pandemic Insight team here at the Office for National Statistics.
| Together, in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Professor Sarah Walker, Chief Investigator for the survey, and the Department of Health and Social Care, we are responsible for the COVID-19 Infection Survey.
I would like to begin with a huge thank you for your continued participation in the CIS. Without the critical information you provide from your swab and blood tests, the Government would not have had the evidence to make key decisions over the past year. And it is the data you provide to us which will continue to help us navigate infections into the winter and ahead to next year. With restrictions having eased and social lives returning, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the CIS is winding down, or the data from the survey is of less use than at the height of the pandemic a few months ago. In fact, the survey is more vital than ever. Every single person taking part in this study – and there are over 400,000 of you – is critically important to our picture of the nation. As more of the UK population get vaccinated, tracking the impact of the vaccines, and the protection they give against catching the virus, reducing the severity of infection and onward transmission is a key priority. We need to continue to learn as much as possible about COVID-19 infection and antibody levels in the community population. By continuing to participate you are providing essential information about how long antibodies remain in our bodies after vaccination. This will contribute to government decisions about whether or not ‘booster’ shots are needed. We don’t underestimate the effort you continue to make, which is why I would like to personally thank you for your support. |
