Study Design
This study was aligned with the Australian FFX study which ran concurrent to this project and is aligned to the WHO First Few X Protocol.26 27. The Australian FFX study was led by the Doherty Institute, The University of Melbourne28. Families were invited to join either, or both studies at time of first contact, for more intensive biosampling and follow-up. This study was approved by the Royal Children’s Hospital Research and Ethics Committee (#63666 and 63101).
Suspected SARS-CoV-2 cases and close contacts were tested by PCR of nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) at The RCH from March 2020 to September 2020. These dates correspond to the first two epidemiological peaks of SARS-CoV-2 in Melbourne, Australia. Confirmed cases and their household members were recruited if all household members consented to participate.