COVID-19 research information for patients and the public

COVID-19 (sometimes called novel coronavirus) is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus. The UKRI website explains the science behind COVID-19. Corona Virus Disease 2019 is the name that scientists have given the disease.

To keep updated with the latest information, the UK Government has launched a GOV.UK Coronavirus Information service on WhatsApp. 

To use the free GOV.UK Coronavirus Information Service on WhatsApp, simply add 07860 064422 in your phone contacts and then message the word ‘hi’ in a WhatsApp message to get started. Read the Government information about the NHS Test and Trace App.

Over 100,000 UK participants have now enrolled in COVID-19 urgent public health research supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) - at NHS hospitals and care settings across the United Kingdom.

Taking part in COVID-19 research is vital to enable effective treatments to be identified, evidenced and made available to NHS patients as quickly as possible.

• Multimillion investment in new research projects to investigate higher COVID-19 risk among certain ethnic groups (29 July)
  
  
• Researchers to investigate if Fitbit devices can be used to help detect COVID-19 (24 July)

• New NHS service enables people to sign up to be contacted for COVID-19 vaccine studies (20 July)

• First trial results show UK coronavirus vaccine produces a strong immune response (20 July)

• Positive preliminary results from trial of SNG001 in hospitalised COVID-19 patients (20 July)

• More news
  
  For the latest news on the NIHRs response to the challenge of COVID-19, visit the NIHR COVID-19 webpage.