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COVID-19 Community Research Partnership (COVID-19 CRP)

This is a prospective cohort study for SARS-CoV-2 infections among patients and health care workers of health systems in North Carolina, Maryland, DC, Mississippi, Louisiana, and neighboring regions. Investigators are obtaining real-time syndromic respiratory disease surveillance and SARS-CoV-2 serology testing on a subset. Results will allow investigators to calculate baseline seroprevalence and seroconversion rates for SARS-CoV-2 infections, along with hazard risks from close contacts, estimate efficacy of personal protective equipment, and assess sequelae incidence. Health systems will utilize the COVID-19 Patient Monitoring System; an Oracle developed self-reporting data collection system to address these specific questions. Over the course of the study, volunteers will report daily exposures, risk reduction behaviors, and symptoms through a secure app on their smartphone, tablet, or computer. In addition to daily syndromic surveillance, at baseline and periodically for twelve months, serologic IgM/G test kits will be used to identify infections and reinfections in volunteers and results merged with the Oracle symptomology database. Data will be merged with electronic health record data from each health care system into a combined database at the Biostatistics Center.

Research Question(s):

Among participants reporting COVID-like illnesses, calculate the incidence of antibody test-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections among the general population and health care workers and by ethnicity, county location, COVID-19 contacts, age group, sex, and PPE use.
    
Among persons IgM and/or IgG antibody positive to SARS-COV-2, calculate the seroprevalence and seroincidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic infections among the general population, health care workers and by ethnicity, county, COVID-19 contacts, age groups, sex, and PPE use
    
Among symptomatic cases detected by positive antibody tests or by molecular test-confirmed SARS-COV-2 infections, calculate the incidence of sequelae, including the case fatality ratio among the general population and health care workers and by comorbidities, age group, sex, ethnicity, COVID-19 contacts, and use of PPE.

Among symptomatic cases defined by positive antibody tests and by molecular test-confirmed SARS-COV-2 infections, evaluate the rate of long-term sequelae, durability of immunity, re-emergence of transmission after social distancing measures are relaxed and related questions of public health importance for the nation.

VISIT STUDY WEBSITE

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S)

Diane Uschner, PhD

ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATOR(S)

Sharon Edelstein

RESEARCH STAFF

Brian Burke, Mihili Gunaratne, Greg Strylewicz, Meghan Turney, Huiping (Helen) Wu, Matthew Bott, Ashley Hogan Tjaden, Debbie Copan

MAJOR PUBLICATIONS

Upcoming

Project Overview:

This study aims to conduct real-time syndromic disease surveillance and serosurveillance to estimate incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 among the general population and in subpopulations.

Major findings/impact of study:

As a surveillance study, this project will continually provide important insight into COVID-19 infection rates and trends. Daily symptom reporting will allow for a real-time monitoring of COVID-like illness across several states. Combined with serosurveillance testing for the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, this project may help to identify hotspots and thus inform public health policy. These studies also aim to better understand short and long-term complications following infection, including fatalities, among the enrolled population.