{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T01:37:11Z","timestamp":1787017031132,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764892800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":4,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009068","name":"University of Bern","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009068","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]},{"name":"Vinetum Foundation","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Research for pandemic response needs to be timely to inform evidence-based decision making. The lack of epidemiological data at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic led experts to call for cohorts that could rapidly supply data about newly emerging infectious diseases. The \u2018Bern, get ready\u2019 (BEready) study aims to establish a prospective \u2018pandemic preparedness cohort\u2019 in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. This cohort can be pivoted to the needs of a new pandemic pathogen. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the potential response and to test the feasibility of procedures for BEready.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Closed population-based cohort study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Setting<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Random sample of private households in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, that had previously responded to an online survey.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Participants<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Adults, children and pets.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Primary and secondary outcome measures<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Enrolment as a percentage, associations between the agreement to participate and the demographic and socioeconomic variables of the invited household member, number of social contacts, proportion of samples collected, proportion of complete questionnaires and proportion of participants responding after 12 months.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Intervention<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>After the initial in-person visit with venous blood sampling, participants were followed up for 1 year. We tested remote data collection methods, with online questionnaires and self-collected capillary blood and nasopharyngeal samples, and established a biobank.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The pilot study enrolled 106\/1138 (9%) of invited households plus two additional households that had proactively contacted us. In total, we enrolled 193 people in 108 households (1.8 per household) and 44 pets between April and September 2023. We obtained and stored at least one venous and\/or capillary baseline blood sample from 184\/193 (95%) people and 40\/44 (91%) pets. After 1 year, 172\/193 (89%) people in 101\/108 (94%) of households completed a follow-up survey, as did 22 owners of 34\/44 (77%) pets. 151\/172 (88%) respondents returned a follow-up capillary blood sample.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The response rate to the pilot study shows that obtaining high levels of participant enrolment in a pandemic preparedness cohort study is challenging. Data collection without face-to-face contact with a study team is feasible for household members and will be needed in BEready if control measures during a pandemic prevent in-person studies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-109555","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T06:30:27Z","timestamp":1765175427000},"page":"e109555","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["\u2018Bern, get ready\u2019, BEready, a household-based cohort study for pandemic preparedness research in Switzerland: pilot study"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5821-1685","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eva Maria","family":"Hodel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Selina","family":"Wegm\u00fcller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Institute of Philosophy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2738-0869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Franziska","family":"Iff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"Lim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karin","family":"Grimm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Inselspital University Hospital Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lea","family":"Gasser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Di Domenico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simone","family":"Schuller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gilles","family":"Wandeler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases, Inselspital University Hospital Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4817-8986","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicola","family":"Low","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stringhini S , Wisniak A , Piumatti G , et al . Repeated seroprevalence of anti-sars-cov-2 igg antibodies in a population-based sample. Infectious Diseases (except HIV\/AIDS) [Preprint] 2020. doi:10.1101\/2020.05.02.20088898","DOI":"10.1101\/2020.05.02.20088898"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"600","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(21)00054-2","article-title":"Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after the second pandemic peak","volume":"21","author":"Stringhini","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet Infect Dis"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0039877","article-title":"1999-2009 Trends in prevalence, unawareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Geneva, Switzerland","volume":"7","author":"Guessous","year":"2012","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-020-01755-y","article-title":"Preparing for a pandemic: highlighting themes for research funding and practice-perspectives from the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R)","volume":"18","author":"Norton","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Med"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.0050074","article-title":"Social contacts and mixing patterns relevant to the spread of infectious diseases","volume":"5","author":"Mossong","year":"2008","journal-title":"PLoS Med"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.epidem.2024.100771","article-title":"Social contacts in Switzerland during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from the CoMix study","volume":"47","author":"Reichmuth","year":"2024","journal-title":"Epidemics"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature06536"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2010.07.003"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ipekci AM , Hodel EM , Filsinger M , et al . Who would take part in a pandemic preparedness cohort study? the role of vaccine-related affective polarisation: cross-sectional survey. Epidemiology [Preprint] 2025. doi:10.1101\/2025.04.26.25326349","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.04.26.25326349"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(07)61602-X"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.11","unstructured":"Federal Statistical Office . Structure of the permanent resident population by canton, 2010-2023. 2024."},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.12","unstructured":"Federal Office of Public Health . Infectious Diseases Dashboard on SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) - Mandatory reporting system, 2025. Available: https:\/\/www.idd.bag.admin.ch\/diseases\/covid\/statistic#oblig"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbi.2008.08.010"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbi.2019.103208"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.57187\/SMW.2023.40028"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-023-16405-0","article-title":"Socio-demographic characteristics associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Switzerland: longitudinal analysis of the CoMix study","volume":"23","author":"Reichmuth","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.17","first-page":"13","article-title":"Development and validation of a body condition score system for cats: A clinical tool","volume":"25","author":"Laflamme","year":"1997","journal-title":"Feline Pract"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.18","first-page":"10","article-title":"Development and validation of a body condition score system for dogs","volume":"22","author":"Laflamme","year":"1997","journal-title":"Canine Pract"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.19","unstructured":"Biobanking and BioMolecular resources Research Infrastructure - European Research Infrastructure Consortium . BBMRI-ERIC sample and data portal: Directory entry for BEready Cohort, Available: https:\/\/directory.bbmri-eric.eu\/ERIC\/directory\/#\/collection\/bbmri-eric:ID:CH_UNIBE:collection:CH_BEready?search=beready"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.20","unstructured":"R Core Team . R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. 2023."},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-020-01597-8","article-title":"Quantifying the impact of physical distance measures on the transmission of COVID-19 in the UK","volume":"18","author":"Jarvis","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMC Med"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1009098","article-title":"Projecting contact matrices in 177 geographical regions: An update and comparison with empirical data for the COVID-19 era","volume":"17","author":"Prem","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS Comput Biol"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-021-02107-0","article-title":"Estimating the impact of reopening schools on the reproduction number of SARS-CoV-2 in England, using weekly contact survey data","volume":"19","author":"Munday","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Med"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.24","unstructured":"Funk S , Willem L , Gruson H , et al . Socialmixr: Social Mixing Matrices for Infectious Disease Modelling. 2025."},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.25","unstructured":"Swiss Association for Small Animal Medicine . Vaccination recommendations of the Swiss Association for Small Animal Medicine, 2022. Available: https:\/\/svk-asmpa.ch\/publikationen\/impfempfehlungen\/"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0289181","article-title":"Towards a Swiss health study with human biomonitoring: Learnings from the pilot phase about participation and design","volume":"18","author":"Morand Bourqui","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/aje\/kwx246"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"602","DOI":"10.1093\/eurpub\/ckab055","article-title":"Social inequalities in participation in cancer screening: does the mode of data collection matter? The CONSTANCES cohort","volume":"31","author":"Aranda","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eur J Public Health"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12939-022-01807-0","article-title":"Investigating people\u2019s attitudes towards participating in longitudinal health research: an intersectionality-informed perspective","volume":"22","author":"Merz","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Equity Health"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.annepidem.2007.03.013"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)31304-0"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47001","DOI":"10.1289\/EHP11989","article-title":"Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and COVID-19 Vaccine Antibody Response in a General Population Cohort (COVICAT Study, Catalonia)","volume":"131","author":"Kogevinas","year":"2023","journal-title":"Environ Health Perspect"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2021-058274","article-title":"Investigation of the use of a sensor bracelet for the presymptomatic detection of changes in physiological parameters related to COVID-19: an interim analysis of a prospective cohort study (COVI-GAPP)","volume":"12","author":"Risch","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2020-048317","article-title":"Prospective observational study of SARS-CoV-2 infection, transmission and immunity in a cohort of households in Liverpool City Region, UK (COVID-LIV): a study protocol","volume":"11","author":"Setiabudi","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0249141","article-title":"Public willingness to participate in personalized health research and biobanking: A large-scale Swiss survey","volume":"16","author":"Brall","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/jech-2011-200699"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"843","DOI":"10.1159\/000511889","article-title":"Facilitating Clinical Trials Participation of Low Socioeconomic Status Patients","volume":"237","author":"Price","year":"2021","journal-title":"Dermatology"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.38","unstructured":"Verband f\u00fcr Heimtiernahrung . Statistik Heimtierpopulation 2022. 2022."},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"375","DOI":"10.1080\/10888705.2016.1173548","article-title":"Guardians\u2019 Perceptions of Cats\u2019 Welfare and Behavior Regarding Visiting Veterinary Clinics","volume":"19","author":"Mariti","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Appl Anim Welf Sci"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1277","DOI":"10.1007\/s00103-014-2047-8","article-title":"Zoonoses research in the German National Cohort","volume":"57","author":"Hille","year":"2014","journal-title":"Bundesgesundheitsbl"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-19650-z","article-title":"Willingness to participate in a personalized health cohort - insights from the swiss health study pilot phase","volume":"24","author":"B\u00fchler","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-020-1111-1"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.43","unstructured":"Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS) . White Paper: Clinical Research. Swiss Academies Communications 2021. doi:10.5281\/zenodo.4772725"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s42522-020-00027-2","article-title":"Pandemic preparedness planning in peacetime: what is missing?","volume":"2","author":"Osterhaus","year":"2020","journal-title":"One Health Outlook"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-022-13745-1","article-title":"Results of the Cologne Corona surveillance (CoCoS) study - a prospective population-based cohort study: incidence data and potential underestimation of new SARS-CoV-2 adult infections by health authorities","volume":"22","author":"Oberste","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.46","first-page":"824","article-title":"SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in Germany","volume":"118","author":"Gornyk","year":"2021","journal-title":"Dtsch Arztebl Int"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18073572","article-title":"Prevalence and Risk Factors of Infection in the Representative COVID-19 Cohort Munich","volume":"18","author":"Pritsch","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"2026010703460774000_15.12.e109555.48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1016\/j.puhe.2023.01.010","article-title":"Depression trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in the high-quality health care setting of Switzerland: the COVCO-Basel cohort","volume":"217","author":"Probst-Hensch","year":"2023","journal-title":"Public Health (Fairfax)"}],"container-title":["BMJ Open"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-109555","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,7]],"date-time":"2026-01-07T11:47:13Z","timestamp":1767786433000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bmjopen.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-109555"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]},"references-count":48,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,7]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-109555"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-109555","relation":{},"ISSN":["2044-6055","2044-6055"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2044-6055","type":"print"},{"value":"2044-6055","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]}}}