Prevalence of IgG antibodies against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 among healthcare workers in Tennessee during May and June, 2020

  1. Peter F. Rebeiro
  2. Kara J. Levinson
  3. Lindsay Jolly
  4. Elizabeth Kassens
  5. George J. Dizikes
  6. Richard S. Steece
  7. David C. Metzger
  8. Matthew Loos
  9. Ron Buchheit
  10. Lisa D. Duncan
  11. Lori A. Rolando
  12. Jonathan Schmitz
  13. Heather A. Hart
  14. David M. Aronoff

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Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was low (<1%) in this large population of healthcare workers (HCWs) across the state of Tennessee (n=11,787) in May-June 2020. Among those with PCR results, 81.5% of PCR and antibody test results were concordant. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was higher among HCWs working in high-community-transmission regions and among younger workers.

Importance

These results may be seen as a baseline assessment of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among HCWs in the American South during a period of growth, but not yet saturation, of infections among susceptible populations. In fact, this period of May-June 2020 was marked by the extension of renewed and sustained community-wide transmission after mandatory quarantine periods expired in several more populous regions of Tennessee. Where community transmission remains low, HCWs may still be able to effectively mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission, preserving resources for populations at high risk of severe disease, and these sorts of data help highlight such strategies.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.11.12.20230912: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementIRB: Ethical clearance: A study exemption determination was obtained from the Tennessee Department of Health Institutional Review Board.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variableOutcomes and differences in age at the date of sample collection and sex assigned at birth (male or female) were also summarized by study enrollment site (as available).

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Sample collection & laboratory methods: Whole blood specimens were collected and an immunoassay for qualitative detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein-directed IgG in human serum and plasma was performed on these samples using the Abbott Architect i2000 with chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay technology (7).
    Abbott Architect
    suggested: (Abbott ARCHITECT i1000sr System, RRID:SCR_019328)
    15.1 (StataCorp, College Station, TX).
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    There were limitations in this study. First, differences in sampling schemes across health systems, and the voluntary participation of particular health systems, may render this study population not representative of the entire population of HCWs in the state of Tennessee, limiting generalizability. There also may have been outcome misclassification present, as no test, has perfect diagnostic sensitivity and specificity (7). Finally, this study did not have information on social network structures or other characteristics to identify high-risk groups for SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission among HCWs. Seroprevalence patterns among HCWs, inherently at higher risk of exposure, might change as local and regional epidemics evolve and might be impacted by disease activity in the community, exposure mitigation efforts, personal protective equipment supplies, and public health policies (quarantines, mask mandates, etc.). The nature of SARS-CoV-2 transmission merits continued monitoring in this population in both the long and short-term.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.11.12.20230912v1 on medRxiv