COVID Immune
COVID immune draws upon four existing longitudinal LifeCourse population cohorts: VITALITY, MIS BAIR, HealthNuts and SchoolNuts.
Bringing these cohorts together creates a powerful and rich data resource spanning from ages 1 to 24 years. COVID Immune looks at pre-COVID immune phenotypes and biomarkers and whether they predict susceptibility to and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study also seeks to understand the clinical features, natural history and long term impacts of SARS-CoV-2 infection on immune phenotypes and other biomarkers; and the psychosocial impacts of SARS-CoV-2 and its management.
COVID-19 specific data collection occurred in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a one year follow-up being undertaken in 2021.
| Year | 2020: Baseline | 2021: Follow-up (12 mths after baseline) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort | VITALITY | MIS BAIR | HealthNuts | SchoolNuts clinical | VITALITY | MIS BAIR | HealthNuts | SchoolNuts clinical | |
| Age | 1-5 yrs | 5-6 yrs | 10-14 yrs | 15-24 yrs | 2-6 yrs | 6-7 yrs | 11-15 yrs | 16-25 yrs | |
| # | 377 | 315 | 418 | 63 | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | |
| Allergies | Allergies | ||||||||
| Behavioural problems | Behavioural problems | ||||||||
| Demographics | |||||||||
| Education and childcare | |||||||||
| Environmental exposures | |||||||||
| General health | |||||||||
| Home and neighbourhood environments | |||||||||
| Medications and supplements | |||||||||
| Mental health | |||||||||
| Puberty | Puberty | ||||||||
| Relationships | |||||||||
| Resilience and wellbeing | |||||||||
| Substance use | |||||||||
| Biosamples | |||||||||
| Study Summary | |
|---|---|
| Study name | COVID Immune: Predictors of infection and clinical severity with SARS-CoV-2 in extant longitudinal LifeCourse population cohorts of children/young adults and their household/family contacts |
| Current principal investigator/s | Prof David Burgner (Co – Study Principal Investigator) A/Prof Kirsten Perrett (Co – Study Principal Investigator) |
| Current project manager | Ms Megan Mathers |
| Primary Institution | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
| Major funding sources | Rio Tinto Department of Health and Human Services, the Victor Chiodo Foundation, and Morgan Stanley (Psychosocial aspects) |
| Are data available to others outside study team? | Certain data may be available upon Investigator agreement only |
| Study focus (e.g. social development) | To investigate predictors of infection and clinical severity with SARS-CoV-2 in extant longitudinal LifeCourse population cohorts of children aged 1 to 24 years and their household. |
| Sampling frame | Children/young adults aged 1 to 24 years from each of 4 established cohorts with existing pre-pandemic immune biospecimens (including PBMCs and/or plasma) Children/young adult ages range from: 1 to 5 years of age (Vitality), 5 to 6 years of age (MIS BAIR), 10 to 14 years (HealthNuts) and 15 to 24 years (SchoolNuts) |
| Study type (e.g. randomised control trial, cohort, case-control) | Longitudinal cohort study |
| Year commenced | 2020 |
| Ongoing recruitment? | No |
| Commencement sample (N) | 1172 |
| Intergenerational (e.g. offspring)? | No |
| Imaging (e.g. fMRI, ultrasound, retinal photograph)? | No |
| Linkage (e.g. BioGrid, VPDC, NAPLAN, Medicare)? | No |
| Biosamples (e.g. buccal, blood, hair)? | Blood |
| Ethics approvals or requirements (e.g. specific, extended, unspecified, other)? | Specific consent for psychosocial questionnaire data, unspecified consent for blood samples to be used in future ethically approved projects related to infection, allergy, immune responses and child health |
Principal Investigators
Prof David Burgner
A/Prof Kirsten Perrett
Project Manager
Ms Megan Mathers
Study Contact
(03) 9936 6029
covid.immune@mcri.edu.au
Postal Address
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
The Royal Children’s Hospital, 50 Flemington Road
Parkville, Victoria 3052 Australia