Lawmakers in North Carolina are spending $100,000 for a Wake Forest Baptist Health COVID-19 antibody study.
Health researchers plan to use the money to purchase and mail 1,000 at-home testing kits to a representative sample of North Carolinians who previously tested positive for COVID-19 to see whether they have developed an immunity to the disease.
The study is a collaborative effort with health systems across the nation, led by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Health and Atrium Health.
Dr. John Sanders, an epidemiologist at Wake Forest Baptist, said experts need the community’s help to find a solution for the pandemic.
“We really feel like we have to have citizens step up and help us in tracking the disease and following how we’re doing as the disease evolves and as public policy decisions are made that might impact rates one way or another,” Sanders said.
Sanders was waiting for funding from other sources, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to start the study before lawmakers stepped in to offer aid, Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said.
“He needed funding to begin this study this week, rather than next month,” Berger said. “The North Carolina Legislature provided that funding, and the results of the study, the data that we will receive will help guide policy choices on a host of issues from everything from school calendars to tax policy and everything in between.”
The $100,000 will be withdrawn from an account designated by the General Assembly for research, legislative operations and business.
Researchers will first start by taking a close look at the most common symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath.
The study’s participants are Wake Forest Baptist’s patients. They will use test kits to prick their fingers to draw blood monthly for one year. If antibodies are present, it could be an indication the person already has had the virus.
Antibodies can be detected in a person’s blood 14 days after the start of symptoms, Sanders said.
Similar tests have been used in clinical trials in China. However, CNN reported a group of leading infectious disease experts told White House Officials on April 6 antibody tests may not be reliable in COVID-19 research.
The tests may confuse COVID-19 with other strands of the coronavirus, scientists from the group said. In addition, lax U.S. Food and Drug Administration restrictions also could impact the quality of the tests.
The tests being used in the Wake Forest Baptist study are being provided by digital health company Scanwell Health. The tests have not been approved by the FDA for use by the general public but can be used for research.
Scanwell Health is marketing the tests at $70 each and plans to roll them out after they acquire approval.
