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Participants Needed for Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey

Date: 11/09/20

To help public health professionals and scientists better understand the spread of COVID-19 in Texas and the immune response it causes in individuals, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) are partnering with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to launch the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey (Texas CARES). Texas CARES will determine the proportion of people throughout Texas who have COVID-19 antibodies, indicating a past infection and presumably some degree of immune protection.

DSHS worked with UTHealth to develop and fund the antibody survey to broadly describe the experience Texans are having with COVID-19. With antibody testing purchased by the state, funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the expertise of UTHealth researchers, the collaboration aims to learn more about the number of people who have been infected in Texas, follow how infections spread over time, understand risk factors for the disease and inform planning for future health-care needs due to COVID-19.

Survey participants will be asked to complete a brief survey about their health and factors that affect it. Next, they will visit a participating clinic to have their blood drawn for the first of up to three antibody tests that will occur several months apart.

The survey team is looking to enroll a diverse population of participants to gather more insight on why some individuals infected with the virus are asymptomatic and if that affects their antibody response. Those who have tested positive, negative or have never been tested for COVID-19 are eligible to enroll in this assessment.

Texas CARES is looking for the following participants:

  • School-aged children, 5-17 years
  • Teachers and education professionals
  • Employees in retail, business or service sectors
  • Patients at community clinics

For more information or to sign up for this survey, visit the Texas CARES website or email TexasCARES@uth.tmc.edu.