Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing immunocompromised people with personalised tests for Covid-19 antibodies.

An antibody testing study has been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to establish if antibody testing can identify which immunosuppressed individuals remain at greatest risk of severe COVID-19 infection after vaccinations. The Stratification of Clinically Vulnerable People for COVID-19 Risk Using Antibody Testing (STRAVINSKY) study will receive £2.8 million and involve 3000 immunocompromised participants over two years. 2600 participants will receive a finger-prick antibody test, with 400 receiving more detailed immune analyses. The study will include the analysis of pooled existing antibody testing evidence from several studies to develop an understanding of how each patient group responds to the programme of COVID-19 vaccinations.

It is hoped the findings will provide clinicians, policymakers and members of the public with up-to-date information on the incremental impact of the programme of booster vaccinations and inform future advice and targeted medicines for people who are immunosuppressed, including the use of antibody testing. We will continue to communicate to people most vulnerable to COVID-19 about available clinical interventions, including vaccination and treatments, as well as testing and public health advice.