CDC Plans Nationwide Coronavirus Antibody Study To Track Virus’ Spread
- May 19, 2020
Reuters (5/18, Brown) reports the CDC “plans a nationwide study of up to 325,000 people to track how the new coronavirus is spreading across the country into next year and beyond, a CDC spokeswoman and researchers conducting the effort told Reuters.” The study, “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, said Dr. Michael Busch, director of the nonprofit Vitalant Research Institute.” Dr. 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 Hill (5/18, Bowden) reports that “news of the CDC’s study comes as some have called for the agency to take on a greater role in the nation’s fight against coronavirus.”