The purpose of this dataset is to understand the prevalence of the coronavirus in the UK population, using longitudinal data and including not only cross-sectional data but the inclusion of an antibody test for a sub-sample of people. Demographic information is also included allowing for analyse by different variables to identify patterns and trends.

Participants have three options open to them; can have just have one visit, can have a visit every week for a month or, can have a visit every week for a month and then continue to have visits every month for one year in total from when you joined the study. This is entirely voluntary.

At each visit a field worker conducts a questionnaire, and supervises swab tests. A proportion of visits also include a blood sample being taken. The swab and blood samples are tested at laboratories.

The overall purpose of this study is to understand how many people across the UK have or may already have had the coronavirus. This will help the government manage the pandemic moving forwards.

The COVID-19 Community Infection Survey includes information on: • how many people across England and Wales (extending to Scotland and Northern Ireland) test positive for COVID-19 at a given point in time, regardless of whether they report experiencing symptoms • the average number of new infections per week over the course of the study • the number of people who test positive for antibodies, to indicate how many people are ever likely to have had the virus • key demographic information (sex, age, occupation)