CDC PLANS COVID-19 ANTIBODY TESTS IN 25 US METROPOLITAN AREAS

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans a nationwide study covering up to 325,000 people to track how the new coronavirus is spreading across the country into next year and beyond.

In an exclusive written for Reuters on May 19, 2020, Nick Brown quoted Dr. Michael Busch, director of the nonprofit Vitalant Research Institute, as saying the study, which is expected to launch in June or July, will test samples from blood donors in 25 metropolitan areas for antibodies created when the immune system fights the coronavirus.

Busch is leading a preliminary version of the study - funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - that is testing the first 36,000 samples.

The CDC-funded portion, to be formally announced this week, will expand the scope and time frame, taking samples over 18 months to see how antibodies evolve over time, CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told Brown. #coronavirusimpact #COVID19