Before the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States, it was clear that health care workers on the front lines were at an extremely high risk for infection. As health care organizations in New Jersey and around the country confronted the crisis and began providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), education, and guidance to their teams, Capital Health worked to advance mitigation efforts further by developing a COVID-19 blood antibody screening program. The research began by assessing the presence of COVID-19 immunity in Capital Health's workforce.

A person infected with COVID- 19 produces specific IgG antibodies that can be detected in blood samples, whether they're exhibiting mild symptoms, a serious illness, or no symptoms at all. The presence of this specific antibody indicates that a person has produced an immune response to COVID-19.

"Testing for the presence of the IgG antibody among our employees was a natural starting point for this study. Like health care workers all over the world, they're looking this health crisis in the eye every day," said Dr. Eugene McMahon, chief medical officer at Capital Health. "As the medical community's understanding of COVID-19 evolves, we believe that our antibody testing research will assist health care providers and patients alike."

Led by Patrick De Deyne, PhD, director of Clinical Research at Capital Health, the IgG antibody research initiative began in mid-April with more than 1,200 employee volunteers contributing blood samples for the study. Capital Health then partnered with FlowMetric, Inc., a biotechnical laboratory located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to create a screening program that follows the industry's exacting protocols and high ethical standards. Through this collaboration, Capital Health demonstrates how regional medical centers have important roles in the development of new diagnostics and treatments in medicine. After making each volunteer aware of their immune status, the goal of this study is to inform the medical community about the existence of immunity to COVID-19 in health care settings and eventually the population at large.

"In order to continue to deliver the level of care that the people of central New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania expect, Capital Health needs to support its employees," said Dr. Robert Remstein, director of Accountable Care at Capital Health. "So far, the study has yielded significant information from employees at Capital Health, much of which can be applied to epidemiologic studies of the community and beyond."