Thank you for your interest in learning more about this study. Please read the following information to learn about participating. Then click the link to get started.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) are partnering with the public to better understand the spread of COVID-19 in your community.
We are recruiting study participants to complete brief online questionnaires daily for the over next several months. The questionnaires will be sent to participants by email or text message from Oracle, one of our study partners. The questionnaires will ask participants about any symptoms they have had related to COVID-19, possible exposures to COVID-19 and health care visits due to the disease. Participants who complete their study questionnaire every day will be entered into our weekly and monthly raffle draws to win an e-gift card.
Previously, participants had an option to participate in antibody testing. However, we have closed enrollment to this part of the study as of April 22, 2021. Only those previously selected for at home antibody testing will continue to receive test kits.
The study is available to ANY interested members of the general public who are aged 18 years and older, living in Maryland or the surrounding states.
We are still recruiting study participants to take part in the brief daily questionnaires, however enrollment for the at home test kit to test for the antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 has now closed.
Questions or having difficulty enrolling into the study? Study staff are available to answer your questions about this research study and can be reached by phone at 1-855-559-1861 or via email at info@covid19communitystudy.org
We want to thank all our dedicated study participants and give you all the opportunity to win rewards by completing your daily survey updates!
We will be raffling off gift cards for study participants who complete their daily surveys. Here’s how it works:
Maximize your chances of winning by completing your daily survey every day. Any days missed due to Oracle outages will not be counted against your daily participation. You will be entered into the raffle prize draw every week and/or month that you are eligible.
Winners will be contacted via email or phone. Weekly winners will be notified each week. Grand prize winners will be notified each month.
Not receiving email or text reminders to complete the daily survey? Please email info@covid19communitystudy.org for assistance.
If you have additional questions, please email info@covid19communitystudy.org or call 855-559-1861. Please note the call center is open Monday-Friday 7am-7pm EST.
Thank you for continuing to Join the Fight – For You, For Me, For All.
Thank you to all our participants in continuing the fight against COVID-19.
We wish to extend a special thank you and CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who completed their daily survey every day! Keep completing your daily survey to have a chance of winning in the next raffle draw!
Research studies are designed to gain scientific knowledge that may help people in the future.
Please take your time in making your decision as to whether or not you wish to participate in this research study. You may also discuss this study and your decision to participate with your friends and family. If you have questions about the study, you can reach a member of the study team at 1-855-559-1861 or by emailing info@covid19communitystudy.org
As you are aware, the coronavirus pandemic is a public health emergency. By understanding the spread of the virus, who is at greatest risk and the conditions that put people at risk, researchers can help the medical community develop strategies to fight it. The goal of this study is to collect information about the community’s COVID-19 exposures, symptoms, and health care visits due to the disease. If you are a health care worker, the study will collect information on your use of personal protective equipment.
There is no cost to you for participating.
The information collected about you is for research purposes only. This information will not be used to guide your medical care. Your doctor or health care provider will not have access to your research information.
The research study cannot provide medical care or COVID-19 testing if you become sick. The questionnaires and at-home testing kits are for research purposes only.
If you have questions, please contact 1-855-559-1861 or email info@covid19communitystudy.org
This study is available to anyone aged 18 years and above who lives in Maryland or the surrounding states.
Yes. We gain valuable information about how long your immune response, after infection or vaccination, might last by having people enroll in the study who have already been vaccinated or had COVID-19 infection. Any information you provide in the daily survey can help us answer key questions about the spread of COVID-19 in your community.
Every day, for the next several months, you will receive a link to complete a very brief questionnaire. It takes less than 30 seconds, and you can answer the questions from the comfort and safety of your own home using your smartphone, tablet, or computer. The study will continue as long as there are concerns about the pandemic in our region and your continued participation is important. However, you can choose to stop receiving the questionnaires at any time.
The questionnaire will cover the following:
The information collected in the questionnaire will be used for research purposes and will not be entered into your medical records.
If you are a UMMS patient, we will connect your daily questionnaire responses with your medical record. The goal is to better understand your general health, any health care visits, hospital stays, medical procedures or lab results you have and how they impact any COVID-19 symptoms you have had or are experiencing.
Previously, participants had an option to participate in antibody testing. However, we have closed enrollment to this part of the study as of April 22, 2021. Only those previously selected for at home antibody testing will continue to receive test kits.
If you decide to participate, you will first read the informed consent and agree to participate in the daily questionnaires.
Informed consent is important because it:
If you read the informed consent and decide that you do not want to participate in the study, that is OK. Please do not agree to take part in the daily questionnaires if you do not want to participate.
If you read the informed consent and decide that you do want to participate in the study, then you will be asked to complete a few additional questions. These questions include:
To be enrolled in the study you must complete all of these questions.
Within 24-72 hours of enrolling in the study you will receive an email or text with a link to complete your online registration for the daily questionnaire with our technical partner Oracle.
If you chose to receive your daily questionnaire by text message you will receive a text that states: “Welcome to Oracle COVID-19 Health Management System” and provides a unique link to the webpage https://covid19-rx.org.
If you chose to receive you daily questionnaire by email you will receive a welcome message from: “COVID-19 Patient Monitoring System”.
The link you receive from Oracle is unique to you and should not be shared with anyone else.
From here, you will be asked to validate your personal information. This completes your enrollment into the study.
Previously, participants had an option to participate in antibody testing. However, we have closed enrollment to this part of the study as of April 22, 2021. Only those previously selected for at home antibody testing will continue to receive test kits.
If you agreed and were selected to participate in the at-home testing, you will be asked to complete tests every 1 to 2 months to detect antibodies to the virus. At-home testing requires a finger prick for placing a sample of your blood on a collection card. Your kit will include instructions for how to package the collection card in an enclosed mailer and return it via FedEx. We are using the Euroimmun test kit for sample blood collection. You can watch a short video demonstrating the blood collection technique here.
The at-home testing does not diagnose COVID-19 and is for research purposes only.
Your body will make different antibodies in response to natural SARS-CoV-2 infection than in response to COVID-19 vaccination. To better understand the spread of COVID-19 and the uptake of vaccination in the community, all participants who test positive for antibodies via EuroImmun LabCorp Testing are tested a second time using Roche LabCorp Testing to determine if their body’s response is due to exposure to the natural virus or vaccination. Interpretation of the results of these antibody tests can be found in the table below. Please note that the results of these tests should not be used to change your behavior. We encourage you to continue to follow guidance from the CDC and your physician concerning the best ways to prevent and manage COVID-19.
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“-“ = negative test result“+” = positive test result
“Inconclusive” = the test result was not positive or negative. There may have been technical difficulties with the test kit.
“Not Applicable” = the Roche test (second test) is not performed if the EuroImmun (first test) test is negative or inconclusive.
EuroImmun: this test looks for spike protein antibody; spike protein is on the virus and is an important component of all COVID-19 vaccines.
Roche: this test looks for nucleocapsid antibody; nucleocapsid is not in any U.S. authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
Natural Infection
Vaccination
Participating in this study does not prevent you from getting the vaccine nor will it help you get the vaccine. Everyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine should do so as soon as they can.
You do not need to have been exposed or have had symptoms of COVID-19 to participate in the study. Any information you provide in the daily surveys can help us answer key questions about the spread of COVID-19 in your community.
There are two messages you receive from Oracle:
If you have requested to receive your daily questionnaire by email, please check your spam or junk folder.
If you have not received an email or text message to start the daily questionnaire, it is possible there was an issue with your enrollment. Please call 443-457-3548 or email COVID19-RX@som.umaryland.edu and we would be glad to help you resolve the issue.
Please check your spam or junk folder. If you have checked your spam folder and still have not found an email, please call 855-559-1861 or email info@covid19communitystudy.org for more help.
Questions about this research study can be answered by the study call center by calling 1-855-559-1861 or emailing info@covid19communitystudy.org. Study staff are available 7 AM to 7 PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday to help answer your questions.
This study is part of the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership. We are working together with the following partners:
Together we are working to fight COVID-19. Check out our national website at http://covid19communitystudy.org/
Our goal is to enroll a representative sample of participants from Maryland and the surrounding states and in particular we want to enroll racial and ethnic minority groups as these groups have been seriously impacted by COVID-19. The data below reflects study participation since we began enrollment in late January 2021.
So far more than 5,590 participants have enrolled in the study and together they have completed more than 414,775 daily questionnaires.
We recognize that people of color continue to be underrepresented in research, including this study. We are working to partner with community leaders and organizations to spread the word about this study and raise awareness about COVID-19. Since African American and Latinx communities are greatly affected by COVID-19, we are working to increase representation of these community members. We want to ensure we have adequate data to better understand how COVID-19 is affecting all of our community members, especially those most impacted.
As you can see from the graphics below, we need to enroll more people of color. Please help us spread the word. If you would like to help us spread the word about this study, please get in touch at COVID19-RX@som.umaryland.edu.
A total of 1,350 participants have reported experiencing at least one COVID-like symptom since their enrollment in the study. The most frequently reported symptoms so far have been fatigue, muscle pain, and congestion or runny nose. The graphic below shows all symptoms and the total number of days they have been reported.
