Development of high throughput, inexpensive and scalable testing to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using home blood collection kits and a fully automated ELISA antibody assay [LSPIPSA-HCW, study data contributed to the CITF Databank]

<b>Background:</b> Healthcare workers are at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Population-wide serologic testing can be helpful to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in the blood and to determine the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 immunity. <br>

<b>Aims of the CITF co-funded study:</b> This study aimed to develop a scalable, inexpensive, and easy-to-use antibody testing method to support high-throughput screening for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, compare the effectiveness of micro-tube collection and dried blood spot for home blood collection and ascertain rates of previous infection, new infection, and re-infection of COVID-19 in healthcare workers. <br>

<b>Methods:</b> This multi-group study recruited COVID-19 positive and recovered patients from the Mount Sinai Hospital patient population in Toronto through in-person recruitment, and COVID-19 negative or untested healthcare workers at Mount Sinai via word of mouth. The healthcare worker population was followed longitudinally. Volunteer participants for the longitudinal study were healthcare workers from Mount Sinai Hospital, Sault Area Hospital, and Health Sciences North in Sudbury. Participants provided a blood sample through a skin puncture for micro-tube and dried blood spot. Venous phlebotomy was used to sample blood if capillary blood was not able to be sampled. Healthcare worker participants also completed a questionnaire, and were followed up 30 days post-vaccination, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-months post-assays. Serology testing was conducted at each follow-up to assess antibody levels. <br>

<b>Contributed dataset contents: </b>The datasets include 1,058 participants who completed questionnaires and provided blood samples for SARS-CoV-2 serology. Baseline visits were completed between October 2020 and December 2021. 260 participants (25%) only completed the baseline visit, 798 participants were followed longitudinally up to April 2022. A total of 3,666 samples were collected. Variables include data in the following areas of information: demographics (age, sex, race), general health (other diseases, smoking, BMI), exposure risk factors (interaction with covid infected patients, working site in hospital), longitudinal follow-up for COVID infections (COVID test, symptoms), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, and serology