COVID Related Sample Collection Service

The COVID-19 human genome sequencing programme will recruit 20,000 people currently or previously in an intensive care unit with coronavirus, as well as 15,000 individuals who have mild or no symptoms during infection. The study aims to understand the genetic factors that influence risk of severe COVID-19. It has been designated as an urgent public health study by the NIHR and is jointly funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, UKRI and NIHR.

Genomics England Limited (GEL) is required to collect 15,000 genomic samples from volunteers who have suffered mild or asymptomatic COVID symptoms to provide a control cohort in support of COVID genomic research. GEL does not have integral sample collection capability, and support from NIHR research nurses and NHS Trusts to collect samples is not guaranteed, nor are they able to support home visits, the preferred collection method. This Contract Notice is to select a provider for the remaining 10,000+ samples to work with GEL from around October 2020 onwards.

Severe Retrospective Cases. Current severe retrospective recruitment numbers indicate that up to 70% of volunteers will request a home visit for their sample collection. As a result, the samples that the collection provider will be required to collect will include both mild, and severe retrospective. The numbers of severe cases will be over and above the 10,000 mild samples but are not currently determined.

Additional Co-recruitment - (not yet confirmed). There is the possibility that the collection provider will also be asked to perform additional sample collection in certain instances. This would result in a 6-8 week period during which the majority, if not all, cases up to a volume of approximately 10,000 would require blood collection that includes the standard collection for the mild samples and other collection services during the same appointment.