Environment submissions database

London was at the epicentre of the UK’s initial COVID-19 outbreak (>40% of the national cases). King’s close links to leading NHS Trusts through our Academic Health Science Centre (KHP) placed us at the heart of the crisis. KHP recruited c.3,500 patients/participants to national priority clinical trials, including the ACCORD platform, RECOVERY and the Oxford Vaccine Study. King’s made a major contribution to the UK’s response, but our research has been significantly affected. We suspended all lab-based and participant-focused research on 23rd March 2020, excluding critical COVID-19 research. 660 researchers were furloughed (at 100% salary). Our campuses were closed to all non-critical staff from 23rd March, and challenges with on-site research still remain. We were forced to pause high-profile research capital programmes. We seconded c.200 staff (clinical academics/fellows and professional services) to NHS partners, alongside all academic trainees. University space was repurposed for NHS use, including medical simulation facilities for COVID-19 training (>400 surge nurses trained), and transfer of high-end research equipment to the NHS. This supported our NHS partners treating c.3,200 patients (>550 admitted to intensive care) (as of 21st April 2020). We provided advice to Government through 2 staff on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and a Senior Advisor to the Lords Science and Technology Select Committee on COVID-19. King’s academics led research across the entire breadth of disciplines to support the UK’s response, mobilised by c.£700k rapid funding from university and fundraised resources (first awards 23rd March), later supported by UKRI, philanthropy and industry. Substantial resources were diverted from planned research activities, with funder consent. Example programmes include: -Creation of the COVID-19 Symptom Study/App, which recruited >3.6m people across the UK to identify infection rates in each area, the highest-risk areas and populations, and to understand symptoms (and links to underlying conditions) (summary in Science). This generated major insights, including identification of loss of smell/taste as a significant symptom of COVID-19 and has provided daily updates to Government. -Joint leadership of UK clinical trial of convalescent plasma (blood from recovered patients): www.kingshealthpartners.org/latest/2852-blood-plasma-treatment-for-covid19-to-be-tested -Creation of national (UKRI-funded) NHS CHECK study to investigate the psychosocial impact of the pandemic in >60,000 NHS staff. -COVID-IP: High-resolution immune-phenotyping of critically ill patients to better understand variation between protective and failed immunity, informing clinical decision-: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52754280 -Setting up an NHS-accredited COVID-19 diagnostics centre, the June Almeida Laboratory. -Creation of the Life Lines project, which enables secure “virtual visiting” in intensive care units (>1,000 devices provided to >150 UK hospitals). -Major contribution to identification of Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome of Childhood Temporally Associated with SARS-Cov-2 Infection (Nature Medicine). -COVID-19 Survey on Misperceptions, Expectations, Attitudes and Behaviour: seeking to understand interactions between public perception of likely future outcomes, including economic and financial impacts, varying levels of trust and confidence in government actions. -Wide range of research and commentary about the social, economic and cultural impacts of the COVID pandemic, including a UN paper with the first estimates of impacts on global poverty and early evidence of the impact on public trust in institutions.