The Timberwolves and the Mayo Clinic are spearheading a study on COVID-19 antibodies that is expected to include all 30 teams, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN, who says the study will likely be completed in June.
As Andrews explains, the study aims to determine what percentage of NBA players, coaches, executives, and other staffers have developed antibodies to the coronavirus. The results should provide doctors and researchers with more information on what the presence of antibodies means. The study should also help NBA teams better map the spread of COVID-19 throughout the league and potentially identify which people have a lower risk of contracting the virus.
According to Andrews and Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Mayo Clinic is using a finger-prick method for detecting antibodies and are hoping to establish that it’s just as effective and less invasive than the usual method of drawing blood from a vein.
“It would be hugely helpful because the fingerstick blood draw could be done at home and the sample could be mailed in for testing at a lab,” Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a Mayo Clinic consultant, told O’Connor. “Vast numbers of people could be tested without any need to go to the hospital or a clinic to receive a blood draw.”
According to O’Connor, about 400 people from approximately half the NBA’s teams have participated in the study so far, with the rest of the clubs expected to join that list soon as practice facilities around the league continue to open — the blood draws have been taking place at those facilities. NBPA executive director Michele Roberts tells The Ringer that players are “fully on board” with providing samples for the study.
“Our players have embraced the opportunity to contribute to this important public health study that will help researchers better understand the prevalence of COVID-19, potentially improve care for patients, and promote long-term efforts to develop a vaccine and treatment for the virus,” she said.