At present, the pandemic situation is more stable than it was a year ago, and many pressing questions have been answered. The centrally coordinated part of the Corona Immunitas study will therefore be concluded shortly. The last questionnaire for participants in the digital follow-up will be sent out on 26 November 2021. Corresponding information has been sent to all participants.
In Fribourg, Geneva, St. Gallen and Valais, the data will continue to be collected individually and questionnaires will be sent out accordingly after 26 November 2021.
The FAQ for the re-scaling of Corona Immunitas can be found here.
In Vaud and Valais, the 5th test phase is currently underway.
Vaud
Kits for self-collection of blood samples
In Vaud, blood collection has been completed. About 90% of the blood samples were taken by the participants at home with kits for self-collection, the others were taken by a nurse on site. The analysis is underway and seroprevalence results are due by the end of November. Questionnaires will continue to be sent out in Vaud until 26 November 2021.
Wallis
Blood draws begin in November
In Valais, recruitment for the study began at the end of September. So far, more than 700 people have registered for the serological tests. The collection of blood samples will start at the beginning of November. The first results are expected in early 2022. The questionnaires will be sent out and evaluated in Valais beyond 26 November 2021.
Geneva
Child study starts in December
The UEP (Unité d’Epidémiologie Populationnelle, Hôpitaux universitaire de Genève/UNIGE) will continue the ongoing studies and digital follow-up via the Specchio-COVID19 plaform. To date, more than 10,000 people are participating in the studies. A new longitudinal study will be launched as of December 1st. Named SEROCoV-Kids, the study will evaluate the impact of the pandemic on kids and teenagers.
Winterthur
Last questionnaire
Winterthur will complete the study at the end of the year. At the end of the study, a questionnaire will be sent to all participants to ask them about the impact of the pandemic on their training.
Lucerne
Majority of study participants completed questionnaires
The main objective of the Corona Immunitas Study Lucerne, conducted by the University of Lucerne (Department of Health Sciences and Medicine) in collaboration with the Lucerne Cantonal Hospital (LUKS), was to find out how many people in the canton of Lucerne had antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Based on a random sample selected by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, a total of 1,029 Lucerne residents filled out an initial questionnaire between January and July 2021 and were tested for antibodies. The majority of the study participants agreed to participate regularly in electronic short and longer questionnaires. By the end of 2021, 963 study participants from Lucerne will have taken part. This made it possible to investigate the effects of protective measures on the spread of the virus as well as the completeness and duration of immunity. These and other data will be published in specialist journals.
With the completion of the centrally coordinated part of the Corona Immunitas study, the study in Lucerne will also end shortly. We hereby say: THANK YOU! And wish everyone continued good health.
Eastern Switzerland
Data collection continues
In Eastern Switzerland, data collection will continue through the questionnaires regularly sent to study participants, even when the centrally coordinated part of the Corona Immunitas study comes to an end. It is planned to allow all participants to answer the digital questionnaires for a maximum of 8-12 months. The data will continue to be extremely useful for coronavirus research. Contrary to popular belief, many things have not yet been clarified.
Ticino
Final questionnaire for the digital cohort
In view of the stable pandemic situation compared to a year ago, Corona Immunitas Ticino is adapting to the national program and will stop sending out questionnaires by e-mail from the end of November. The team would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their valuable collaboration over the past months.
What's next?
The team will continue cleaning and analyzing the numerous data collected through questionnaires and samples to help the scientific community - national and international - understand the virus and its impact on people's lives. In addition, those who wish to contribute further to the research may be suggested to participate in other - equally valuable - projects.
Fast Response Unit: preparing for the unforeseeable
Ticino, together with Zurich and Vaud, was selected by the national Corona Immunitas program as the site for the Fast Response Unit, i.e. an emergency unit capable of reactivating the project if the pandemic situation so requires in the future (e.g. further development of the vaccination campaign, new virus variants).
