Our staff and students tested the population for antibodies against COVID-19 

    The staff, doctoral students, and students of the Faculty of Medicine, UPJŠ in cooperation with the Košice city, carried out public testing of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the framework of the Prevcoveast clinical study from April 19, 2021, to April 30, 2021. Its aim is to determine the presence of individual classes of circulating antibodies in the population of Košice and its surroundings, while the results will, among other things, define the risk groups of the population, identify asymptomatic individuals and determine the true proportion of the Eastern Slovakia population already infected. All adults and children from 12 years of age who have not been vaccinated with any COVID-19 vaccine could participate in testing.
    “The results of the study will allow us to reveal the true proportion of the Eastern Slovakia population already infected and also help to clarify the epidemiological context,” says prof. Monika Halánová, D.V.M., PhD., Vice-Dean of the FM UPJŠ, the Head of the Department of Epidemiology, and the principal investigator of the Prevcoveast project. The team of employees of the Department of Epidemiology, the Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, and the Department of Infectology and Travel Medicine participates in its implementation. 
    A total of 9,463 people participated in the testing, of which approximately one percent confirmed IgM antibodies indicating an acute phase of the disease, so they were advised to visit the nearest antigen test sampling site or order PCR tests. “Approximately 25 percent of people had antibodies detecting the disease and about 75% had no antibodies detected,” said the principal investigator of the Prevcoveast project. More detailed results will be available after comparison with the results of tests for the presence of antibodies in the fall of this year.
 

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