UArizona To Begin Coronavirus Antibody Testing

TUCSON, AZ—The University of Arizona has plans to begin analyzing blood samples from hundreds of thousands of Arizonans to determine who has been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 and developed antibodies against it.

"Antibodies are proteins that float in our blood," said Nikolich-Žugich, the co-director of the UArizona Center on Aging. "Good antibodies attach to the virus and whisk it away, preventing it from binding to our cells and getting inside."

Current estimates suggest that as many as 50 percent of people who have been exposed to the virus have experienced few to no symptoms and could have been unwittingly transmitting the virus in the community. The presence of COVID-19 antibodies means the immune system mounted a response against the virus, university health officials said.

To help make the testing possible, the state is providing $3.5 million to test 250,000 health care workers and first responders throughout Arizona, university officials announced Monday. The first phase of testing will begin on April 30 in Pima County and will include 3,000 health care workers and first responders.

"We're going to be the first to undertake statewide testing of all health care workers and first responders," said Dr. Michael D. Dake, senior vice president for health sciences. "This is critical to understanding what current immunity might be in our community and state, and it's something no one else is doing."

With separate funding, university officials said approximately 1,500 members of the general public in Pima County, including university students currently residing on campus or in the county, also will be tested to provide a measure of comparison to the health care worker and first responder groups.

Testing for the remainder of the state will expand to health care workers and first responders throughout Arizona on May 7, officials said.

The university plans to also provide antibody blood testing for the remaining majority of its 45,000 students and 15,000 employees with separate funding. Plans for that testing are still being finalized, officials said.

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