Wednesday 18 November 2020

Testing Testing

I was contacted by letter asking if I'd take part in a COVID-19 testing research study which is being carried out by Imperial College London, on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. My name was chosen at random from the NHS list of patients registered with a GP. It's to monitor the levels of COVID-19. I'm used to taking part in medical research, I've received numerous letters asking for my cooperation since I underwent treatment for bowel cancer and I do try to help when I can.

I've had a home test sent to me, which I took this morning. The test is a nose and throat swab and will be collected by courier today. There's also a short online survey to complete which asks about my health and any COVID-19 symptoms I may have had.

I haven't had any symptoms so I expect the results to come back as negative, but people are testing positive without having had any symptoms so you just never know. 

24 comments:

  1. Well done for volunteering without people putting themselves forward we will never get this sorted. I thank all those that have taken part in the vaccine clinical trials regardless of brand.

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  2. It's good to feel you are contributing isn't it! I'm part of the study for the Office for National Statistics and have been tested regularly since April - I've got a nurse coming today to take blood and a swab test. I'm leased at anything I can do to help manage this pandemic

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  3. I presume you are getting paid for this.A friend of mine and her husband were asked to take in a trial,being tested every month .They reckon they will have earned £450,each in high street vouchers!

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    1. I haven't been paid a penny for this, nor any other research I've been asked to take part in. I think it's terrible that people are making money out of a pandemic which has claimed so many thousands of lives. There's hospital staff, and others, who are in daily contact with people who have this virus, putting their lives on the line, yet people are being paid for taking a test, I think that's terrible.

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    2. I realise that in replying to this I may be setting myself up for vilification but I am one of those "terrible" people.

      I’ve done other things for the Office for National Statistics none of which I have been paid for and when I was approached back in April and asked to commit to sixteen tests over a period of a year, I would again have agreed without being paid anything. For each test I have a phlebotomist visiting my home and taking blood and then I do the throat and nasal swab test. I stay at home all the time anyway so it’s no problem.

      I would happily have done this for nothing but I think the payment is being given in return for long term commitment. It comes in the form of credit with a commercial firm who then issue a gift card to be spent with a retailer of my choice. I don’t apply for the money and if I did not take it, it would probably go into the pocket of the commercial firm which has been entrusted with its distribution.

      I am in the fortunate position of having minimal financial impact as a result of the pandemic and I have a slush fund which is money which I give away and which I have funded more generously this year. Some has gone to National Health related charities and some to other relevant charities eg Women’s Aid. I don’t think I’m quite as terrible as you might have thought.

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    3. It's admirable that you donate to charities, however, many people will not be doing so and this initiative is apparently costing the tax payer up to £170 million. The thing which really annoys me is that, as I said before, thousands have died, and are still doing so, in this pandemic and people are profiting from it.

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  4. That's wonderful that you help with medical research. I was offered the chance to take part in research when I was diagnosed with breast cancer but admit to opting for treatment as my cancer had already spread to my lymph nodes.
    COVID-19 research is different and they need to learn so much about this disease. I do hope you have a negative result from your test.

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  5. Well done for taking part, Jo. Hopefully you won't find out that you've got Covid!

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  6. How admirable, Jo. You must know you are doing a very valuable service. Is it a one-off? Or will they continue to monitor you? Well done. P.x

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    1. It's a one-off for now but they did ask if I'd consent to being contacted again, so who knows. Eleanor works in a hospital laboratory and she's taken part in research being tested there. She's had a couple of tests but, thankfully, they've both come back negative.

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  7. Well done, you are to be applauded. I thank you for your help so that others will benefit.

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  8. Well done Jo, I hope it comes back negative, it must feel good to know that you are helping in some way. I feel quite helpless if I hadn't retired I would be in the thick of it, I'm wondering if they might need help to give the vaccine when it's released I'm keeping a close eye on the situation.

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  9. It appears that one vaccine has passed the safety tests so hopefully that can start rolling out soon. It mentioned yesterday that vets could be recruited to administer it.

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  10. I admire you Jo for taking part as many would just throw it in the bin I reckon & I've done a few odd ones over the years & I certainly wouldn't expect to be paid, but I do think they should give feedback, which doesn't always happen here. Hope all goes well & it is negative as I know it's bad around Scarborough & Nth Yks. I'm so worried about DD & family & our family around Leeds. Take care, stay safe & hugs from down under.

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  11. My daughter and BIL were contacted to do this too, but it was a few months ago during the first lockdown. I think they are still trying to gather all the data they can in order to understand this virus. We all went for blood tests to check if we had antibodies too, which would indicate if we had had the virus, we had texts to say that no antibodies were found, they were quite quick in getting back to us so I don't think you will wait long for a reply.

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  12. Yes to volunteering . Thank you!

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  13. Well done, I must admit I wasn't looking forward to doing mine but geared myself up for it only to find the swab was missing from the packet! Hope the test comes back negative.

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  14. Good on you Jo, supporting your community. This will help in the fight against Covid, and every bit of help goes a long way.

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  15. Well done. It's a great thing to do.
    xx

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  16. Good for you and well done. People like yourself who do this really do help the work they do. Take care. xx

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  17. Both my children have been randomly chosen to do this test too. One back in May and the other in August. I think the May one was an early one as it was all rather disorganised by August things were a lot slicker. I am glad to hear that they are still doing them, it is important research isn't it.

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  18. Good for you. I dread having a test as the very thought of touching my tonsils makes me gag.xxx

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