You asked

FOI Ref: FOI/2021/2270

1. How many individuals in total, are taking part in the COVID -19 infection survey?

2. How many individual tests these participants have each had, in total since the start of the COVID -19 survey?

3. What date the COVID-19 survey started?

4. What date the COVID - 19 survey is ending?

5. How many of the participants of the COVID- 19 survey, have anti bodies to COVID-19? And when did the participants have antibodies from?

6. Each time each individual who was in the ONS COVID-19 survey, was tested, I.e. weekly - was each individual test counted as a separate test for overall cumulative COVID-19 test results, in the UK-  and added to the daily COVID-19 test figures, or was each person's test, ( regardless of how many times that individual was tested) - only counted once - as it was just one person's test?

We said

Thank you for your request.

1. As of the 2 May 2021, there are 394,420 eligible participants in the COVID-19 Infection Survey.

2. The total number of participants in the UK and each of the four nations can be found in tab 2a of our survey's technical dataset.

On tab 2f of the same dataset, you can find the number of tests performed each day since the survey began.

3&4. The COVID-19 Infection Survey began recruiting participants on 24 April 2020. The study protocol states that the planned study duration will end by 31 July 2023. More information can be found here.

5. In the dataset accompanying our antibodies and vaccination article, you can find the latest modelled estimates over time for the percentages of people who would have tested positive for antibodies to COVID-19 in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland on tabs 1a, 2a, 3a and 4a respectively.

6. Tests from the COVID-19 Infection Survey are included in the overall daily testing figures reported in the Government coronavirus dashboard under pillar 4 and all tests are reported, regardless of who is taking them. However, only pillar 1 and pillar 2 tests results are reported in the dashboard and these have been de-duplicated so that a person is only counted as one case. Therefore, our data are not included in daily or cumulative tests results on the dashboard.

Public Health England are responsible for measuring overall cumulative COVID tests in the UK. They can be contacted via email at wn_coronavirus@phe.gov.uk.