Originally posted on August 5, 2020 in https://cityofhideaway.org/docs-corner/f/how-can-we-help-fight-covid-19
Our community and our lives have been drastically affected in the past few months by COVID-19. The biggest challenge in fighting this pandemic has been the lack of knowledge about the virus. In order to gain insight into how COVID-19 is spreading, the CDC is testing people for antibodies in multiple cities across the nation. Since Hideaway is not one of those selected cities, we have applied for a grant through the Coronavirus Relief Fund for our own testing program. This program will be undertaken by the North East Texas Public Health District (NET Health). We will start recruiting about 300 volunteers in mid August. Participants will be tested sometime in early September and the same group will be tested again in December. This will show how many new positives occurred in three months and how many people who tested positive in September continue to maintain their antibodies into December.
If you volunteer and become part of the program, a sample of your blood will be drawn from a vein by a medical professional in the same way a sample is drawn when your doctor orders “blood work”. Your blood will then be shipped to a lab for analysis. The results will be shared with you and no one else without your authorization. We plan to set up blood draw sites here in Hideaway for your convenience.
The most accurate antibody test available will be used. The test can show if you had a past infection with COVID-19. It does NOT test for active infection with COVID-19. It does NOT confirm protection from the virus. All it tells you is whether you developed antibodies as a result of exposure to the virus at some point in the past. The antibody test is currently not of significant value to an individual, but when used in large groups of people, it can provide valuable population information. This study, along with studies from other cities, has the possibility of increasing our knowledge of how this virus is spreading and how we can slow it down. A positive or negative test will not change your life in any way at this point, it will simply provide data for the scientists. Most recently, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center announced such a study for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
We have received our allotment of the Coronavirus Relief Fund from the State of Texas to conduct this program. Once the dates and locations of testing have been confirmed, we will launch the website and start recruiting participants. We hope to have many volunteers in Hideaway eager to help our city and our nation slow and eventually stop the pandemic.
Thank you for supporting our initiative to study COVID-19 in our community!
Sue Royappa, MD, MPH