Has anyone else been randomly selected for the Covid survey?

I'd have to go through the rigmarole of INR testing first ( warfarin ) to see what the results were then the nurse would press ahead with the test.
I can't have any sort of procedures done without being tested to make sure that the blood clotting was within range, so unless the surgery calls, I won't be having such a test.

My 14 year old gd got selected for same one as nannyjan it was from imperial college of London.

I did the 1 test survey. Almost scared it might be positive even though I knew it wouldn't be. It was complicated enough for me, so it showed me why a lot of tests are never returned. Even had to do an IKEA job on the cardboard box

I'm on the same as you Dannydog. Two blood tests so far anf another eleven months to go.

I've also volunteered for the jab and waiting to hear.

I, too, was randomly chosen for the Imperial study (apparently it really is random). Unfortunately my medications ruled me out of the process - I was unwanted.!
However, I daily complete the Zoe Covid study (over four million British people are doing so - please consider joining us) and last month had a few vague symptoms which I reported.

The following day I received an email advising that they thought I should be tested and would I like a test kit? I and my husband (same household) both received test kits - nasal and throat swabs - quick and easy to do and neither of us gagged). A day or two later we had emails: husband negative and me positive. I felt rather like a fifteen-year-old girl must feel when staring at a positive pregnancy test - incredulity, shock and horror!

By this time I did feel ill but amazingly (I have several 'underlying conditions') I didn't become very ill.

However, since then, I have had several infections of various parts of me and have been told that they are all 'very probably' Covid related. I guess there is no accurate monitoring of these illnesses but please do not think that Covid is a walk in the park.

I think that it is true that 'bad news drives out good news' and perhaps there has been a negative slant to Covid reporting. However, I am sure that many British people are not taking the problem as seriously as they should: the R rate in my locality is now up.

What will happen if we don't get a grip on this in the summer months? As we all know, winter brings 'flu and as it seems that no amount of negative reporting will bring some of us to our senses (in terms of not taking preventative measures against Covid now) so what on earth will happen then?

The professor who is running the Zoe study has pointed out that 'it is disappointing to see that the number of daily new cases is no longer falling as they have been in previous weeks'. There is further information which is too much to add here - please think about joining Zoe (reporting only takes a few seconds each day), it is interesting and you would be doing something to help the country.

it's ZOE NotSpaghetti

gillybob do you think that it might have been COVID?!

Yes indeed I do Calli despite the efforts of one of the most senior microbiologists in the country they never did pin point what had caused his body to close down as it did . They said it was Legionella , then said it wasn’t, they said he had Sepsis but didn’t know where this had come from ? Ditto the Double Pneumonia . Almost 13 weeks on life support and no official diagnosis . I certainly have my doubts .

DH was selected but couldn’t follow it through as he is now on blood thinners so I presume it was the finger prick test.

Gillybob, your husbands illness sounds terrible, what an awful time it must have been.
I must say, I’d be leaning towards it being Covid. There is so much we don’t know about this disease and the different reactions people have to it.
I hope your husband is well.

I did the same Imperial College one as Romola and did find it fairly complex as well as being uncomfortable, but everything went according to plan and it's sort of reassuring, if a little meaningless, to have it confirmed that you're negative for Covid 19.

Me and DH were sent ONS survey to take part but so far have declined as worried about the contact involved with the person who comes to your home to test on numerous occasions. We are both pensioners with health issues.

gillybob I know other things can cause sepsis, someone we know who is in her 30s got sepsis as a consequence of flu.
It's going to take a while for your DH to recover fully but I hope he's on the road to recovery now.

I don't think we'll ever know for sure; I can remember all those athletes being ill when they went to Wuhan last October.

I’ve signed up but had no further contact.

My son had a letter through from the IPSOS place, to do the online with a code to put in, but due to him working shifts nights and days he said it would be more difficult for a courier to collect, but no mention of any vouchers of any sort. How odd.

But what nobody knows is why some people get it mildly with some of the symptoms and others get it so bad as is in the case of Kate Garray's husband who she says may never be the same person again. We are frightened of visiting my mother in law up north - a hour journey - as she has 3 carers in her flat daily and there are other agencies going into her block of sheltered flats, its all such a risky business.

Correction - Sorry my mother in law is a 3 hour drive away, not an hour.

It seems strange to me that those who have administered the swab test themselves seem to find it mildly uncomfortable.
Those who have had it done by a medical person find it extremely uncomfortable and very unpleasant.

Just saying.

Really encouraging to hear from those of you who are participating in the tests and procedures. Thank you for your public spiritedness. To defeat this rotten Covid, we all need to pull together like this.

My husband had an invitation to take a Covid test by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

He tested as negative, very easy process to do with his sample of blood taken by himself and test done at home, and feedback online.

I then had an invitation from them too, but it stated in the letter that I would be for a swab test. I carried out the same questionaire as my husband, but when I got to the question regarding on anticoagulant (I take warfarin) I got a "not suitable for the test" reply. Which I found strange as I was being offered a swab test. Did try and contact them by email but have heard nothing back. So obviously no test for me. Would have been interested to know, especially if it was the blood test, that highlight antibodies present or not.

mphammersley I, too was rejected when reaching the anticoagulant question for Imperial.

If you join the Zoe Study (and I have no connection with them!) and feel a little ill, they will test you. I did and was found to be positive, much to my surprise.

Local councils are also undertaking testing if you think you may have symptoms. Ours has a drive-in facility and one is tested in one's own car - using the vanity mirror to see where to take swabs.

We are doing the tests and haven't found any problems. Only I have received the first vouchers. H is still waiting for his. I am saving up for a bread maker. We can't decide what else to save up for.
It relieves the monotony of being at home all the time just to see a different face once a week.

DD is doing the ONS one with her two boys. She said the only problem was the lack of training for the lady who comes round to the house and the fact that the software is rubbish.

I can’t say we’ve found the self test at all difficult to do. The discomfort is only momentary.
We were give links to a little video demo on how to do it. It said that if you do it properly, the throat swab should make you gag, and the nose ditto should make you ‘tear up’.

When we had an official test done some weeks ago, at a drive-in centre, dh put his failure to gag down to his own superior self-control! I said my own gag reaction was purely involuntary, but of course he knew best... until he started doing it himself, when he gags every time.

My son does the ONS one, after being randomly selected. He enjoys the £25 he gets every time

We have agreed to this research and waiting to hear back
with a date for them to visit. Not looking forwards to the swab tests as I gag easily but want to help.