The CASCADE Study - Measures of Complement Activation and Inflammation in Patients With Covid-19

COVID-19 is a new disease and therefore it is still not clear exactly how the virus affects the body and why people are affected so differently. It causes infection in the lungs and the virus can then attack blood vessels in the lungs and other organs to spark off an inflammatory process that can make a person very ill. It also can cause damage within tiny blood vessels that makes a person's blood thicken up and stop flow in vital organs. The investigators believe complement (which is a chemical in the body which can be harmful in excess) orchestrates the inflammation and thickening of the blood that can make a person sick. The investigators now need to know which of these complement chemicals are elevated in COVID-19 and compare to healthy volunteers, and assess whether the levels are higher in people with severe lung disease. The investigators believe that if levels are increased there are special treatments that can counteract them and potentially be an effective treatment for COVID-19. In this study the investigators will measure different parts of the inflammation process to better understand what may be causing severe disease and to see if there may be benefits from a new treatment to reduce inflammation