The NHS has launched a national COVID Cancer Antibody Survey to assess antibody responses to the COVID-19 vaccines among cancer patients
People aged 18 or over, who are living in England and have either been diagnosed with cancer in the last year or are currently receiving cancer treatment, are being asked to sign up to the survey at www.covidcancersurvey.uk. Registered participants will be sent a finger-prick blood test that looks for antibodies against COVID-19 in the blood.
Vaccination is an important strategy to protect society from the effects of COVID-19, but there is emerging evidence that a small number of cancer patients may have lower levels of antibody response than the general population. The NHS don’t yet fully understand what lower levels of antibodies mean in terms of outcomes, but it may mean some people with cancer are not as protected from COVID-19.
By signing up for this survey, registered participants can help the NHS to develop their understanding of what antibody levels mean for people with cancer and help to provide the best treatment, care and support for patients, as well as finding out about the participants own antibody levels.
Participants will be asked to fill in a short form before being automatically redirected through to the NHS Test & Trace antibody test booking page where they’ll be able to book your free test. There are 10,000 places on this survey and the NHS expects to be recruiting participants for the next two to three months. To sign up to the survey, please visit https://covidcancersurvey.uk/.
Please note: The NHS are aware that, once a registration has been completed, participants will be directed onto the gov.uk antibody test booking service and one of the questions on that website asks to confirm a participants current employment status. Please ignore the text underneath this question, which asks participants not to continue if not working – people do qualify for an antibody test, regardless of their employment status. Simply answer this question and click ‘continue’ to book your test. The NHS are assured that the website is being updated imminently, when this message will be removed.
For more information, please use the ‘contact us’ section of the survey website: https://covidcancersurvey.uk/contact/
