Commentary: Doing my part to fight the spread of COVID-19
Wake Forest Baptist Health study tracks infection patterns
By Judie Holcomb-Pack
COVID-19 has changed all of our lives, from how we work, how we shop, how we study, and how we interact with others. I have heard people say “We’re in this together,” and I believe that to be true. I had been doing my part by wearing a face mask when out in public, washing my hands frequently, and practicing social distancing.
But I wanted to do more.
I recently became a part of the Community Partnership Study to track COVID-19 infection patterns being conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Health. The study is part of a wider study being conducted in the Carolinas, Georgia and around Washington, D.C., to track the course of the disease in real time.
The study is non-invasive and does not require taking any medication. Every morning I receive an email with simple health questions, such as whether I am experiencing any symptoms such as a fever, cough, chills, etc., and if I have possibly been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. It takes less than 15 seconds of my time to respond to the questions in the safety and comfort of my home, but my answers, along with thousands of others, will provide an important map of the rate of coronavirus infection. The payoff for me is the good feeling I get knowing that I am doing my part to help learn more about this terrible disease.
The goal is to enroll more than 500,000 participants in the COVID-19 Community Partnership Study over the next few months, with particular interest in enrolling a representative demographic including the elderly (age 65 and older), youth (age 17 and younger) and racial/ethnic minority groups. Since African Americans and Hispanics are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, it is important that minorities are a part of this study that may hopefully lead to a vaccine in the future.
As of June 22, over 18,000 people have been enrolled in the study and over 533,000 daily symptom logs have been completed. The research study is still enrolling participants and is available to anyone who has received care at Wake Forest Baptist Health at any time in the past.
Please consider joining me in participating in this study and helping track how COVID-19 is being spread in our community, our state and our region. To participate, call 336-70 COVID (336-702-6843).
We are in this together.
