Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2022 to Question 97699 on Coronavirus: Immunosuppression, what parameters his Department is considering for the antibody testing study; what assessments he has made of the consequences for his policies of the need for immunosuppressed patients to be offered antibody testing; and how his Department plans to communicate the results and conclusions of the study.

The Department is seeking advice from independent clinical experts, who will design the COVID-19 antibody testing study for vulnerable immunosuppressed groups. The results from previous studies will inform the Principle Investigators’ trial design and selection of participants. The proposal will be reviewed by an independent expert committee as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research funding decision process. The Department will engage with patient groups through regular stakeholder communications, which initially would focus on the outcome of a trial funding decision. The development of future guidance on antibody testing for vulnerable groups would be dependent on trial results.