The study, currently published by Wellcome Open, quantified baseline cough or fever cases in the UK and looked at the impact this will have on COVID-19 laboratory testing services.
The researchers based their estimates on the incidence of cough and fever cases in 2018-2019, using data gathered as part of the UCL-led Bug Watch community cohort study. A total of 873 participants were included in the analysis providing a total follow-up time of 23,111 person-weeks.
Senior author, Dr Robert Aldridge (UCL Institute of Health Informatics), said: “Our results show that a high incidence of cough and fever between October 2020 and February 2021 will place a significant strain on UK testing capacity.
ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/sep/win...
Wellcome Open Research: (PDF file)
