BOISE, Idaho — Blaine County was one of the early hotspots in the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Now, State Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett of Ketchum says the National Institutes of Health plans to do an intensive COVID-19 antibody research project there.
She said the county's location, population size, and high infection rate make it a good place for a project like this. She discussed the project on KTVB's Viewpoint.
Sen. Michelle Stennett: We tend to be more isolated and have a high infection rate and the right amount of population to do a good research project here. So we've been working with the doctors that have been on the first line of this infection here in the county and we spoke with the National Institutes of Health to have the ability for them to do a research project here, and it's looking promising that they'll be here in the next couple weeks to be able to test a large portion of the population and get some real data and research out of it that will hopefully help us understand the virus better.
Doug Petcash: How will it work? Will it be random? Will it be blood draws?
Sen. Stennett: It will be both. I'm told that to have good research it has to have randomness so that all populations and demographics are tested, but it will be a blood draw from my understanding. I'm very excited that if we could lend any information to the overall understanding of this virus. It would be wonderful if Blaine County would, one, be tested, but also be a resource in the future for understanding this virus better.
Doug Petcash: Is this a definite that the NIH team will be coming here, or is it under consideration?
Sen. Stennett: As far as I was last told, it is definite. What they have to do to do a good research project is put the protocols, put their Epi team together, get the resources and then they'll come over. So we are making sure however it is they're going to be doing the testing that we have provided either a location or the ability for them to invite the community to be tested. We would have to make sure that they have transportation to get around. Those sorts of things. It's typical for either the CDC or the NIH to ask to be invited by the state so our state Health and Welfare Department is knowledgeable about this, and then also have the county aware so that we make sure they have the resources they need to do this well.
UPDATE:
This interview with Senator Stennett was done on Thursday, April 23.
She told KTVB she got an update from the National Institutes of Health on Monday, April 27. She said the NIH told her the timeframe and the protocols on the study's design are still being worked out, so the start of it will be pushed back to a later date than the two weeks she mentioned in the interview.
In the meantime, she says other entities besides the NIH are doing, or are planning to do, antibody testing in Blaine County.
According to the NIH's website, an Epi team, or epidemiological team, is a group of public health professionals from many disciplines who provide support to agencies during an event where the need for resources is beyond the routine amount.
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