Study tracing COVID-19’s spread seeks new participants

A UW Medicine study to understand the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is inviting Washington state residents up to age 85 to submit a survey about their exposure during the pandemic.

The WAshington coronaVirus Exposure Survey (WAVES) asks prospective participants to complete a survey; some of those people will be selected to provide a nasal swab for a COVID-19 test. Selected participants over age 10 also are invited to give a blood sample for an antibody test, which may detect a previous COVID-19 infection.

Learn more about eligibility to participate in WAVES.

“We don't know what variants are coming up in the future, so this information is really going to help us plan things like booster shots, testing, availability [and] all of the protections we need to take,” says Dr. Keith Jerome, who heads UW Medicine's  Virology Division and is the study's principal investigator.

The survey was launched in May with funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Access downloadable video assets about the WAVES study provided in English and Spanish by UW Medicine doctors.