Epidemiological impacts of the NHS COVID-19 app in England and Wales

NHS COVID-19 앱이 2020년 9월에 영국과 웨일스에서 출시되어 블루투스 기반의 접촉 추적을 통해 SARS-CoV-2의 전파를 줄이는 데 사용되었다. 첫 해 동안 앱의 영향과 사용자 참여가 어떻게 변화하는지 분석하고 사회 및 전염병 특성의 변화와 상호 작용과 보완성을 강조하며 수동 및 디지털 접촉 추적 접근 방식을 강조한다. 익명화 및 집계 된 앱 데이터에 대한 통계 분석 결과, 최근에 알림을 받은 앱 사용자는 최근에 알리지 않은 사용자보다 양성 판정을 받을 가능성이 더 높은 것으로 나타났으며, 시간에 따라 다양한 요인이 있었다. 연구는 앱의 접촉 추적 기능이 첫 해 동안 약 100만 건의 사례를 막았으며, 이는 약 4만 4천 건의 병원 입원 사례와 9,600 건의 사망을 예방한 것으로 추정된다. 민감도 분석에 따르면 예방된 사례 수는 45만 ~ 140만 건, 병원 입원 사례는 2만 ~ 6만 건, 사망은 4,600 ~ 13,000 건이 될 수 있다.

 

The NHS COVID-19 app was launched in September 2020 in England and Wales to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through Bluetooth-based contact tracing. This study analyzes the app's impact and user engagement in its first year and how it varied with changing social and epidemic characteristics. The study highlights the interaction and complementarity of manual and digital contact tracing approaches. The results of statistical analyses of anonymized and aggregated app data showed that app users recently notified were more likely to test positive than those not recently reported, with varying factors over time. The study estimates that the app's contact tracing function averted approximately 1 million cases during its first year, corresponding to 44,000 hospital cases and 9,600 deaths. Sensitivity analyses suggest the range of cases prevented could be between 450,000 to 1,400,000, hospital cases between 20,000 to 60,000, and deaths between 4,600 to 13,000.

The passage provides an overview of the NHS COVID-19 app, launched in September 2020 in England and Wales, which uses Bluetooth-based contact tracing to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The app includes various services such as reporting positive test results, local area information, venue check-in, symptom checking, test ordering, self-isolation countdown, links to public health advice, and access to self-isolation payments. Therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of digital contact tracing interventions is essential. The NHS COVID-19 app has been shown to reduce cases by 13% to 24% during its first three months of operation, depending on the attribution technique. The article describes the interaction and complementarity of manual and digital contact tracing approaches and analyses the impact of the app on user engagement and its epidemiological impacts, which varied over time due to changing social and epidemic characteristics throughout its first year. The authors also estimate that the app's contact tracing function averted approximately 1 million cases, 44,000 hospital cases, and 9,600 deaths during its first year. Overall, the article comprehensively evaluates the app's operation and impact during its first year, demonstrating its potential for reducing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 when combined with strong user engagement.

This passage provides information about the usage and adoption of the NHS COVID-19 app in England and Wales. The app was launched in September 2020, and within a few days, over 10 million users installed it on their devices. The number of active users continued to increase and stabilized at around 13.5 million after the release of Version 4.1 in December 2020. Between 71 and 88% of active users had the Bluetooth contact tracing functionality enabled, and there was a variation in app uptake across different regions, as shown in Figure 1b. The passage also notes that before the release of Version 4.1, app usage data suffered from fluctuations caused by missing or duplicated packets. Overall, this passage provides useful insights into the adoption and usage of the NHS COVID-19 app in England and Wales, highlighting the considerable uptake of the app and the importance of Bluetooth contact tracing functionality.

 

원문:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36495-z