Starting from 3 May, every Sunday you will receive a new weekly survey link to report if you have any ILI symptoms or not, and/or recent influenza vaccination.
If we don’t hear from you, a reminder will be sent on Wednesday.
It is important to respond to the survey if you don't have any symptoms - it only takes a few seconds to respond 'No'. This information is important as it allows us to estimate the weekly ILI rate more accurately and completely.
You can use the most recent weekly survey link to report any new or worsening ILI symptoms at any time during the same week in which you receive the link.
Survey links are only valid for one week, so a new link is sent out each week - it is important to use the most recent survey link you have.
Self-swabbing
Our team will look over your survey responses to determine if you need to be contacted to discuss your symptoms, and you may be asked to do a self-swab to test for respiratory viruses.
Self-swab collection will start from 4 May 2026.
Please make sure you only use the new kits we have delivered for the 2026 season and please dispose of any swab kits from prior seasons.
Please only use the self-swab kit when asked to do so by the WellKiwis team.
We generally do not ask you to swab more than once within a 2‑week period, as respiratory symptoms during this timeframe are usually due to the same infection, and additional swabs are unlikely to provide new information.
WellKiwis is a study about influenza, which will be our main priority for the 2026 season. You therefore don't need to tell us about any COVID-19 vaccinations, and we won't collect blood samples in relation to COVID-19.
Remember to report the date of your flu vaccination in the weekly survey as soon as possible after you’ve had it. We will then contact you 3–7 weeks later to arrange collection of a post‑vaccination blood sample
For participants providing their post flu vaccine bloods at Awanui Labs, please do not have the sample collected until you hear from us. Awanui Labs opening times.(external link)
If you are feeling unwell or have ILI symptoms, please delay visiting Awanui Labs until you are better.
For children aged 6 months to 3 years (inclusive), receiving the flu vaccine for the first time (given as two doses, at least four weeks apart), please:
report the date of the first dose in the weekly survey as soon as you can
once the second dose has been administered, report the date of the second dose in the weekly survey. We will then contact you 3-7 weeks after the second dose to arrange collection of a post-vaccination blood sample.
eGift Cards
To recognise your time and effort in providing samples for the WellKiwis study, you are given a $30 egift card for each sample provided. If you have any issues using your egift card, please click the below link for instructions: