Understanding exactly what happens when someone becomes infected with SARS-CoV-2 is critical if we are to find treatments to stop the more serious consequences of COVID-19. Across the United Kingdom, scientists in the UK-CIC are battling to analyse, in real time, patient samples as they emerge across the hospital journey. Analysis of the excessive immune response in these samples has provided a critical insight into what happens and when, allowing us to propose alternative treatments.
Equally important, is that the UK-CIC is drawing together the datasets across the country to give us the power to examine the contribution of other diseases, medications, gender and ethnicity, data that is needed to protect the most vulnerable segments of the population.