Millions of dollars would go to NC universities for coronavirus research and vaccine
The coronavirus relief package legislators approved Saturday includes more than $85 million to track COVID-19, work on a vaccine, develop treatments and determine the economic impact of the disease.
Legislators unanimously approved the $1.57 billion plan and sent it to Gov. Roy Cooper.
Included is $20 million for Wake Forest University Health Services to expand its effort to track COVID-19 symptoms in real-time and test residents for coronavirus antibodies.
In April, the Republican-led legislature gave the study $100,000 from its discretionary fund to get a start on antibody testing, The News & Observer reported.
Dr. John Sanders, chief of infectious diseases at Wake Forest Baptist Health, said he did not want to presume to have the $20 million in hand, but the plan is to test 10,000 people in 20 counties covered by Wake Forest Baptist Health, 15,000 in 20 counties in Atrium Health’s coverage area — in and around Charlotte — and thousands more across the state. The enrollees will take an at-home antibody test six times over the next year. The goal of the test, which is awaiting emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is to show who has been exposed to the coronavirus.
WakeMed is joining the partnership, Sanders said, and there are active discussions with other large health systems.
“We’re really grateful that the General Assembly and hopefully the governor support this effort,” Sanders said. “We are looking forward to working with the other health systems across the state to put this model into place.”
The health systems need volunteers of all races and ages to “have reasonable confidence that we know what the prevalence of infection is,” he said.
Part of the effort includes having volunteers anonymously report symptoms. The information will be used to help the public know where people are showing signs of the illness such as fever or cough. Researchers would also use the data.
Wake Forest Baptist is testing the reporting system now, Sanders said, with 5,000 people submitting daily entries.
Wake Forest Baptist Health plans to make some information available on its website and through an app that now allows users to see areas where people are reporting ailments such as colds, strep throat, or outbreaks of lice.
The Duke University Human Vaccine Institute would get $15 million to help test the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. The institute has an ongoing animal trial, said its director, Dr. Barton Haynes.
The institute is also part of a group that’s trying to predict what the next coronavirus to infect people will look like.
“There are millions of coronaviruses with the potential to jump to humans,” Haynes said.
The coronavirus bill has $29 million for the UNC Policy Collaboratory for antibody treatments, community testing, a vaccine, and other research. The collaboratory funds research at various state institutions.
“This appropriation will enable UNC-CH and our fellow UNC System institutions to deploy their researchers and resources to find more solutions for North Carolinians,” UNC Chapel-Hill Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz said in a prepared statement.
Dr. Ralph Baric and other researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill have been at the forefront in work on potential treatments, The News & Observer has reported.
The bill has $15 million for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University for community testing, a vaccine, treatments, and research on health and environmental impacts of COVID-19.
The Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine would get $6 million for community testing initiatives, treatment, and work in rural communities.
This story was originally published May 3, 2020 at 6:38 PM.