• Question: Did you change any of your or your family's habits as a result of anything you learned from this study

    Asked by ethanm on 7 Jan 2022. This question was also asked by jayc.
    • Photo: Samuel Ellis

      Samuel Ellis answered on 7 Jan 2022:

      Great question. I would not say anything in my own work has directly caused a change in behaviour, but being a part of COVID research has often given me access to earlier information on things such as research on antibody levels after infection and the effectiveness of different vaccines. I have always recommended getting vaccinated as soon as possible to my family, even though some family members have unfortunately been more sceptical than others.

    • Photo: John Tulloch

      John Tulloch answered on 7 Jan 2022:

      I was involved in the early stages of COVID surveillance within Public Health England, and so I was aware of the severity of the disease. I discussed the risk of the disease to the vulnerable members of my family before any public health measures can in place. This resulted in some making their own ‘stay at home’ orders before they were formally introduced. This made me happy as it kept them safe before they could get protection through vaccination

    • Photo: Jonny Coates

      Jonny Coates answered on 7 Jan 2022:

      I’m the family “expert” and so they often ask questions about the pandemic but also more generally. Sometimes these are even medical questions that I’m not qualified to answer! I actively research how we do and share research so this is perhaps the thing that changes my habits the most – I know strongly advocate for better science and better communication.

    • Photo: Chris Budd

      Chris Budd answered on 7 Jan 2022:

      Very much so. My work involves modelling the impact of Covid in many different situations, such as going to the shops, travelling on a train, going to the cinema, going to university etc etc. I use the results of this modellong to guide my family, colleagues and friends on what I think is safe behaviour

    • Photo: Amy Mason

      Amy Mason answered on 7 Jan 2022:

      Yes, we have gone out much less during Covid. When rates are high, we stick to socializing outdoors. We both work from home as much as we can, and wear masks when around strangers.

    • Photo: Valerie Vancollie

      Valerie Vancollie answered on 8 Jan 2022:

      Yes. Being involved in the genomic surveillance of Covid means that I’m very much aware of how many positive cases there are each day as we get them in soon afterwards. So when Omicron was discovered, I could quickly see how many of the positive samples that we got in which were suspected Omicron and that’s ahead of official figures, so it makes me a lot more cautious.

    • Photo: Eddie Cano Gamez

      Eddie Cano Gamez answered on 10 Jan 2022:

      Yes. We are a lot more careful with hygiene nowadays (always using hand gel and the like) and I ask my family to not go out if they don’t have to. I also had my whole family take LFT tests before gathering for Christmas, which not everyone liked (they are not free in Mexico). I really care about them though, and I know that a third of COVID-19 cases can be asymptomatic.

    • Photo: Melanie Krause

      Melanie Krause answered on 13 Jan 2022:

      Hi :),
      I don’t directly work on Covid, but I am also the only one in my family with a science degree so I read a lot of the new publications as I feel it is my job to keep my family informed. I recently shared some data with them that shows that FFP2 masks are much better at protecting you from the virus than surgical masks and now the pretty much only wear FFP2 ones.

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