COVID-19 Update
Be on the TEAM and COVID-19 Update
We have had a fantastic response to the Be on the TEAM study and completed our recruitment target of 24000 participants at the end of 2019. Many thanks to all those that have helped us with this study.
In March 2020 the closure of schools/colleges in response to the COVID-19 pandemic lead to the suspension of all study visits. Unfortunately, in light of the challenges posed by the pandemic, the study has stopped early and no further study visits will occur. This decision has been taken in consultation with the study funder, the study sponsor (the University of Oxford) and the study scientific advisory board, and reflects concerns about the feasibility and safety to staff and students of undertaking study visits in the coming months.
Importantly, with the data already collected we anticipate that we will still be able to determine whether immunising with group B meningococcal vaccines reduces the carriage of this bacteria in the throats of teenagers.
Key Points about stopping 'Be on the TEAM':
- Some participants will not be able to receive the two doses of MenB vaccine.
- As the MenB vaccine to be offered in this study was not part of the national vaccine schedule for this age group you will not have missed out on any routine care.
- All participants recruited in 2019 will be entered into a prize draw for a pair of BEATS headphones, regardless of how many visits they were able to complete.
- The MenB vaccine is different from the MenACWY vaccines that universities and colleges may ask you about. The MenACWY vaccine is a routine vaccine given in schools, usually in Year 9 or 10. Please check with your parents of GP if you are usure whether you had a MenACWY vaccine.
- Please see the information on your local site study page for further information about the MenB vaccines in the study and action you can take now that the study has stopped.
- If you would like information about how to access MenB vaccines privately then please visit the below links:
https://www.meningitis.org/meningitis/vaccine-information/meningococcal-group-b-vaccine
- Please get in touch with your study site if you have any further questions.
Once again, a huge thank you goes to all that have contributed to this study, firstly to the participants and also to the school and college communities, the leadership teams, school health and pastoral staff, volunteer student ambassadors, and meningitis ambassadors.
We look forward to communicating the final study results to you when these are published.
Be on the TEAM: Teenagers against Meningitis; REC ref 18/SC/0055; IRAS 239091; OVG 2017/08; Be on the TEAM COVID-19 Website Update Text V2.0; dated 13-Oct-2020
