A national study by Statistics Canada will see 48,000 kits sent in the mail to Canadians. The voluntary study aims to learn how many people became infected with COVID-19 and didn't have symptoms. The results are expected in the spring. (Image provided by Statistics Canada)
Nearly 1,800 New Brunswickers are among 48,000 Canadians randomly selected to participate in a study by Statistics Canada to determine how many people have been infected with COVID-19 but never had symptoms.
Participants in the voluntary survey can range in age from one to over 100 years old.
Dr. Catherine Hankins, a professor at McGill University and co-chair of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, said the kit has everything you need to take a finger prick blood sample.
“It has gloves, alcohol swabs, a little lancet, bandages, everything, and you drop the blood onto filter paper and you let it sit for about three hours to dry,” Hankins said.
Kits arrive in the mail for a specific member of a household who was randomly selected.
People willing to fill out a questionnaire and submit a dried blood sample then mail it to a Winnipeg lab in a pre-paid envelope.
When testing is completed, every participant will receive information on their own antibody results.
Hankins said the survey is trying to find the presence of COVID-19 antibodies in provinces and across the country.
“This will give us an idea of how many people actually did have the infection but had no symptoms and therefore didn’t get tested. It will give us a much better idea of how far this virus has gone in the population,” Hankins said.
Dr. Hankins said Canadians should be reassured the study is being conducted by Statistics Canada meaning there is absolute protection of privacy.
She is hoping for a 45 per cent participation rate. A similar study conducted last spring in Spain had 63 per cent of the population participate.
The results of the study should be released by late April or early May.
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