Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Care on 27 January (127906), what the scope of the Covid antibody study will be; which body will be tasked to deliver the study; and what the study timeline will be.

The Department has received an application from a research team to lead a study to establish if antibody testing can identify which immunosuppressed individuals remain at greatest risk of severe COVID-19 infection after vaccinations, and if possible, define testing thresholds for COVID-19 risk. This will aim to improve the understanding of COVID-19 risk in immunosuppressed individuals to inform future advice. We are currently working with the National Institute for Health and Care Research to assess the study proposal and an update will be provided when funding is confirmed.