Impacts of COVID-19 disease and vaccination using OpenSAFELY
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the impact of COVID-19 disease and vaccination on population health, healthcare provisioning, and health inequalities using OpenSAFELY
IRAS ID
307541
Contact name
Jonathan Sterne
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the major crises of our time, requiring a large-scale public health response. The two main strategies for managing the pandemic in the UK have been a population-wide vaccination program and periodic restriction of social contact via lockdowns.
All adults in the UK are eligible to receive vaccines to protect them against COVID-19. The vaccines currently available are given in two doses. Most people who have had a 2nd dose received it 8-12 weeks after their 1st dose. Although clinical trials have shown that the vaccines are safe and effective at protecting against COVID-19, there are still many questions that need to be answered in order to understand longer term effects of vaccination and ongoing protection against COVID-19.
The pandemic response in the form of restrictions and lockdowns has drastically impacted health service delivery, use and access. These rapid and large-scale changes have impacted different parts of the population in varying ways. It is important to understand these differential impacts, particularly how they may have amplified inequalities or reinforced existing barriers to healthcare.
We will undertake a comprehensive program of quantitative work addressing these aspects through a range of studies answering questions such as:
1. What are the characteristics of COVID-19 disease and its risk factors?
2. What are the physical and mental health consequences of COVID-19 disease?
3. What is the uptake, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination?
4. To what extent has the pandemic had adverse and beneficial impacts on population health and health care provision?
5. To what extent has the pandemic affected health inequalities?REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/PR/0095
Date of REC Opinion
2 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion