FIVE hundred households in the North of Ireland will be asked to take part in the COVID-19 Infection Survey, as the Office for National Statistics extends the study beyond England and Wales.
The aim of the survey is to build a picture of infection rates to help inform the North of Ireland response to the pandemic, with initial findings due towards the end of September.
While 500 households will be contacted initially, a further 500 will be added each week.
They’re being chosen from participants in previous ONS and NISRA surveys to create a representational sample of the whole of the North of Ireland.
The study involves participants taking their own samples using self-administered nose and throat swabs, and answering a few questions during a short home visit by a trained study worker.
The swab will show whether or not participants currently have the virus.
They will then be asked to take further tests every week for five weeks, then every month for 12 months.
Then adults from around 10% of all the households involved will be asked to provide a blood sample.
The sample will be taken by a nurse, phlebotomist or healthcare assistant.
That will be tested for antibodies, to help determine what proportion of the population has developed antibodies.
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