Rockford Pain Management in Collaboration with the Winnebago County Public Health Department

A COVID-19 Antibody Seroprevalence Study in Northern Illinois

by Aidan Keefe

Introduction

In early May 2020, Rockford Pain Management (RPM) Clinic became one of the first clinics in Winnebago County, IL to offer COVID-19 antibody tests. I was hired at the COVID-19 testing center because of previous experience working as an EMT. I became one of the first testers to work at the clinic. As a COVID-19 tester, my job was to test patients for COVID-19 antibodies with a finger prick test. I also was responsible for running the test after collecting the blood sample and analyzing and reporting results. Later in the summer, the clinic began to conduct nasal swabs tests for the novel COVID-19 virus, however my main focus was on antibody testing.

Relation To Public Health

At this point in the course of the pandemic, a major public health goal was to better understand the Coronavirus. Not only was it important to understand the virus at a molecular level for vaccine development, but also at a communal level so that the pandemic could be managed and stopped. Understanding viral spread within communities could be accomplished through viral RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction), antibody testing, and contact tracing. In Winnebago county, coronavirus infection rate estimates in the community relied on heavily on RT-PCR testing. Although RT-PCR testing was very beneficial in understanding the impact of the Coronavirus in Winnebago county, it was difficult to assess the extent of infection in the community using this method alone, because RT-PCR tests did not provide information about resolved infections. Rapid antibody seroprevalence was implemented at RPM to provide additional information about the extent of COVID-19 by detecting resolved infections. Furthermore, one study suggested that the FDA, other agencies, or state governments, should use alternative faster and lower cost tests such as antibody tests for surveillance purposes, even if they have poorer limits of detection (Larremore et. al., 2020).

My work

Working to test people for COVID-19 antibodies was very exciting. I worked as a tester during a fairly early stage of the pandemic. There was so much uncertainty and changing protocols during this time as the world learned more about the virus. The uncertainty made adapting to challenging new circumstances an almost daily occurrence. To make the most of the unique opportunity, I decided to conduct a seroprevalence research project. Seroprevalence is the level of a pathogen in a population, as measured in blood serum. I worked to develop a questionnaire to give to patients that would help to gather key demographic data that could be paired to antibody testing results. I modeled my study off of other antibody seroprevalence studies being conducted around the country such as the Santa Clara County Study. I hypothesized that when PCR and antibody testing are used in combination, they can provide a broader and more accurate understanding of virus prevalence within communities. With this in mind, I reached out to the Winnebago County Health Department and asked if they would be interested in collaborating on a research project. They said that they would be interested in collaborating, so I wrote a research proposal and sent it to them. My hope was that my study would provide a piece of the puzzle to understanding and managing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Unfortunately, I had to resume academics in the fall and the work that I had hoped to complete was never finished.

Lessons Learned

Despite not being able to complete a paper, I still learned so much through my experience. First, I learned about the work that goes into developing and conducting a research project. This included creating the questionnaire to gather data and writing a research proposal. I also deepened both my interest in and my understanding of public health. I learned much about the United States public health system through my interactions with the Winnebago Public Health Department. I learned how understaffed and underfunded the United States public health system is, which helped me to reconcile why the United States responded so poorly to the pandemic. Overall, the experience was incredibly fulfilling.

References

Bendavid, E. , et al. (2020, April 30) COVID-19 Antibody Seroprevalence in Santa Clara County, California. MedRxiv. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.14.20062463v2.article-metrics

Larremore, D. B., Wilder, B., Lester, E., Shehata, S., Burke, J. M., Hay, J. A., ... & Parker, R. (2020). Test sensitivity is secondary to frequency and turnaround time for COVID-19 surveillance. medRxiv.

Aidan Keefe

Hi! I am a Biology major and Chemistry minor. I am from Rockford, Illinois. At Macalester, I am on the men’s soccer and men’s club hockey teams. During my time at Macalester I had the opportunity to spend the summer following my sophomore year studying physics at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. I also studied abroad during the spring of my junior year at James Cook University in Australia. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to work part-time as an EMT at concert venues in the Twin Cities throughout my time at Macalester. Outside of school, I enjoy various outdoor activities, reading, and spending time with friends and family. After graduating from Macalester I will take a gap year to gain healthcare experience. With the healthcare experience gained I plan to pursue a career in medicine.

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