UVA Health has partnered with the Virginia Department of Health and other hospitals around the state to determine how many Virginians have been infected with COVID-19 – and how many remain at risk.
The Virginia Coronavirus Serology Project will test the blood of 5,000 patients for COVID-19 antibodies to determine if they have or have had the virus. That will help VDH estimate how many people have had the virus without showing symptoms, or went untested, and better predict how COVID-19 may affect the state in the future.
While the blood samples will be collected across Virginia, all the testing will be performed at UVA Health. Eric Houpt, MD, the chief of UVA’s Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, is serving as project leader. “The confirmed COVID case counts in Virginia, or in any state, are an underestimate because testing has been incomplete and there are many cases with mild or no symptoms at all,” Houpt says. “The question this project will answer is how much are we underestimating infection, how far are we from herd immunity and are we especially missing cases in certain groups or regions.”
If you have questions about COVID-19 testing, please call the UVA COVID-19 Clinic at 434.982.6843.
UVA Health is now open for in-person care for new and existing patients.
Call UVA Physician Direct at 800.552.3723 to refer a patient.
To transfer a patient to UVA Health, call the UVA Transfer Center at 844.XFERUVA(933.7882).
Contact Us
Our Physician Relations Manager, Liz Nottingham, is available by phone (434.981.1023) or email to answer your questions and help with problem solving. Feel free to reach out to her as needed.