EMPOWER - BAME vs COVID

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The COVID-19 virus pandemic has massively affected us all. Moreover, there is a disproportionately high number of COVID-19 severe infections and deaths in British Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) patients. This clinical study plans to discover new ways of protecting people from this virus by looking at our DNA and biology.

Detailed Description
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The COVID-19 virus pandemic has massively affected us all. We now know there is a much larger proportion of British Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) patients suffering from COVID-19 infections. This disproportionate level of infection and severity of disease has raised concerns and worries. Other research from April 2020 showed that 71% of the nurses and midwives and 94% of the doctors and dentists that died of COVID-19 infections were from a BAME background despite this group representing 20% and 44% of the workforce respectively. The survival picture is also grim for Black and Asian members of the public where we see disproportionately high rates of deaths. Research estimates that our DNA and the environment equally influence the risk for infection. This clinical study plans to better understand our DNA. Some of the things we will be looking at is age, sex, ethnicity and any illnesses such as diabetes or blood pressure. We will ask people for some spit and look at their medical records. This may help us find some of the reasons why this virus has different effects on people and how we might protect people from COVID-19.

Official Title
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EMPOWER - BAME vs COVID: A Multi-site Clinical Cohort Research Study to Identify Genetic Associations and Candidate Therapeutic Targets to Reduce COVID-19 Morbidity & Mortality Rates in BAME Populations

Conditions
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COVID-19, SARS-CoV 2 Infection, Health Disparities

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All competent adult and children above the age of 5 years Subjects agree to: Gift saliva (spit) samples Provide Consent for access to medical and health records Exclusion Criteria: Patient is not registered with the NHS for care. Adults lacking capacity Children under the age of 6 years.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 6 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Ethnicity<br>Patients will be segmented on a 1:1:1 ratio similar to the EMPOWER-1 study based on ethnicity (White, Black, South Asian). | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Identify COVID-19 specific host-defence (protective) or predisposing (susceptibility) genetic biomarkers | Discovery of genetic associations with COVID-19 infections that may form the basis of prevention, treatment or management of at-risk BAME groups and the wider population. | 30 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Epidemiological profiles of COVID-19 infections in different UK ethnic populations | Measure the variation and extent of the different types of COVID-19 infection in different populations | 24 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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ethnic minority, health disparity, epidemiology, biomarker discovery, public health, BAME, morbidity, mortality, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2