I do not think my child has had COVID-19. Does this study apply to me?

Your child does not need to have been exposed to or have had COVID-19 to participate in the study. Any information you provide in the daily surveys will help us answer some key questions about the spread of COVID-19 in our community.

Does my child have to participate?

Participation in the study is voluntary. If you decide not to participate this will not affect the standard of care or treatment your child receives at your local health care system. Reach out to your local health care system or the National Call center for the study to discuss any questions about your participation.

How long does this study last?

Participation in this study will last through December 2021.

What if I want to complete the daily survey, but I do not want to complete the in-home testing?

When you first enroll your child in the study, you are asked on your consent form if you want to:

•   Complete the daily survey only, or
•   Complete the daily survey + agree to be in the in-home antibody testing if chosen. Only a sample of participants will be chosen for in home testing.

What is assent and why does my child have to provide this?

If your child is >12 years old, they must complete an assent form in addition to the parent completing the consent. Assent is your child agreeing to participate. Assent is required for children too young to provide consent but old enough to understand the research activities required for participation.

What if I want to do the at-home testing for my child, but I do not want to complete the daily survey?

Participants must take part in the daily survey to be eligible for at-home testing.

Does my child have to stay in the study the whole year?

You are able to pause or stop your participation in the study at any time through Oracle, the system you use to complete your daily survey. You can also contact the National Call center to be completely removed.

Can my child join a vaccine study and still participate in this survey study?

This study has no issues with participants being also involved in a vaccine study. However, the vaccine study may not allow it. We encourage you to reach out to the study coordinator(s) of your vaccine study to ask about whether it is acceptable for you participate in this study.

I have multiple children. How do I decide who to enroll in the study?

You can enroll as many children as you’d like in the study.

How much does this cost me?

There are no costs for participating in the study.

Do I get paid to do this study?

There are no payments or other compensation for taking part in this study.

If you have difficulty enrolling into the study, contact the call center at: 855-559-1861 or email info@covid19communitystudy.org

How do I find out what operating system my cell phone uses?

Some participants may be asked about the operating system of their apple or android device. Here is how to find out which operating systems your device has:

•   https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201685 [support.apple.com]
•   https://support.google.com/android/answer/7680439?hl=en [support.google.com]

How often do I need to complete these daily surveys?

You will receive the daily survey every day. If you miss a day, you can still complete the survey the following day. The surveys may be sent less frequently as the study continues.

•   It takes approximately 1 minute per day to respond to these survey questions.

If I miss one, what happens?

If you miss a survey, you can resume completing the surveys when you receive the next day’s link.

The information you provide is very important and can help answer some key questions about COVID-19’s spread in our community. Please do your best to complete the surveys every day.

Can my child complete the survey?

If you miss a survey, you can resume completing the surveys when you receive the next day’s link.

My survey link is expired. What do I do?

There are two messages you receive from Oracle:

•   Invitation to get started in Oracle and set up your account:
• This link expires in 36 hours. If you miss the window to get started or you are having issues validating your information, call 855-559-1861 or email info@covid19communitystudy.org to have the link resent.
•   The daily survey email:
• This link expires in 24 hours. You receive the daily survey every day. If your link is expired, please wait for the next survey link to be sent to you. If you still cannot find it, check your spam or junk folder. Call 855-559-1861 or email info@covid19communitystudy.org for more help.

I have not received an email to start the daily surveys or I have completed the daily surveys, but I cannot find the email reminder today. What happened?

Please check your spam or junk folder. . If you haven’t received an email to start the daily surveys, it is possible there is an issue with your enrollment. If you have checked your spam folder and still have not found an email, please call 855-559-1861 or email info@covid19communitystudy.org for more help.

A survey question asks if I have shortness of breath. My child has respiratory problems that are not COVID related. How do I answer this?

This question is referring to your child’s health as it relates to symptoms of COVID-19. It does not take your child's medical history into account. It is asking about current symptoms outside of your child’s "normal".

What is the definition of a facemask or face covering?

A facemask is anything that covers your child’s nose and mouth and protects the child and others from possible exposure to COVID-19 in a public setting.

A survey question about wearing facemasks allows me to choose “No Interactions”. What is “No Interactions”?

“No Interactions” means your child had contact only with others in your household or people passing at a safe distance. Any exchange outside of this context is considered an “Interaction”.

My child has symptoms or health problems that the daily surveys do not ask about. How do I let you know about these symptoms?

The survey questions were developed based on current CDC guidance and the data collected is being used for research purposes only. It is not necessary to report additional symptoms. If you are concerned your child may have COVID-19 you should contact your primary care physician.

How do I sign my child up for antibody testing?

When you first enroll in the study, you are asked on your consent form if you want to:

•   Complete the daily survey only, or
•   Complete the daily survey + agree to be in the in-home antibody testing if chosen.(This option should be selected to participate in antibody testing)

Not all participants who sign up for at-home antibody testing will be selected due to limited availability of test kits.

If my child is chosen for at-home antibody testing, what do I need to do and when will I get their results?

If selected, you will be notified by email that your in-home test kit is on its way. Once it arrives, follow the instructions included in the kit to perform the test.

If selected, the antibody testing will be completed no more than once a month and no more than 4 times in the study year.

You will receive an email when your test result is available. The email will instruct you how to get the results.

The antibody test is for research purposes only and no medical decisions should be made based on test results. If you have any symptoms or concerns about results, please contact your child’s doctor. If your child is having emergency symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, please go to the emergency department or call 911.

My address has changed, how do I update it for my next test kit?

Contact the call center at: 855-559-1861 or emailinfo@covid19communitystudy.org to update your address

Why was my child not selected for the In Home Antibody Test?

We understand your disappointment at not being selected for in home testing. You are still very important to this research. This research combines two important components:

Syndromic Surveillance:
The largest part of the study is “syndromic surveillance.” In this part, we ask thousands of volunteers to complete the daily health surveys. We are able to use this information to identify areas where people are reporting more symptoms, which could mean more COVID-19 transmission is taking place. Survey information will be shared with public health authorities and made visible on the study’s website.

In-Home Antibody Testing:
The second part of the study involves sending out kits to test for COVID-19 antibodies in the blood. These tests are sent to select study participants so we can get a broad representation across our communities. Those participants are selected based on characteristics such as their home county, gender, age, profession, race, etc. This part of the study helps us identify how many people may be infected.

Can I purchase this test kit from a pharmacy?

This test kit is not commercially available.

I received my child’s test results, and it states they have antibodies. Do I need to do anything?

A positive antibody test likely means your child has been previously infected with COVID-19 or has had an antibody response to the COVID-19 vaccine. This is a research study designed to answer many questions about COVID-19 and it should not be used for any clinical decisions.

You should continue to follow the guidance of CDC, state, and local health officials to protect your child and your family.

You do not need to share the result with anyone else, including your child’s school or daycare. The result will not be entered into your child’s medical record and your child’s privacy will be maintained.

Will my child test positive if they get the vaccine?

Yes, your child will test positive if they get the vaccine. You will not be able to tell from your results if the child’s antibodies are from the vaccine or a prior natural infection with the virus.

How do I complete the Scanwell in home antibody test kit?

Refer to your Scanwell test kit written instructions and scan your QR code with your phone to open the instructional video.

Your child will need a unique email address for their Scanwell account set up. If you child does not already have an email address, the parent will need to either create an email or use the Gmail Alias Technique described below.

If you have a Gmail Account:

1. Download the Scanwell Application
2. Create an ‘alias’ Gmail address by putting a “+”at the end of your username (but before the “@” sign).
   • For example if your Gmail address is: ‘ParentName’@gmail.com, you would create your child’s email address as: ‘ParentName’+’ChildName’@gmail.com
   • Here is a link with more info on setting up a Gmail alias: LINK.
3. Create a password for your child’s account
4. Once logged in, use the instructions found in your Scanwell kit to give the test to your child.
• If you have more than one child, you can use the same process for creating a unique email address for the other children.

If you do not have a Gmail Account and your child does not have an email address, below are two options for setting up your child’s email address:

1. Set up a Gmail account for you, then follow instructions above to create an account for your child
2. OR set up an email address for your child using any email platform

If your child already has his/her own email address:

1. Download the Scanwell Application
2. Use your child’s email address to create an account.
3. Follow instructions in (3) and (4) above. All emails and results will go to the email address receiving the Daily Symptom Survey. All results are available via the Scanwell app.

If you have any questions about the setting up your child’s account, please contact the call center at: 855-559-1861 or emailinfo@covid19communitystudy.org

I received the kit and attempted to upload my test results, however, it timed out on me. No matter the angle I had my camera and/or card it continued to give me errors. What should I do?

Next time you test, try the following:

1. Make sure you place the test cassette on the Scanwell card before scanning.
2. Be in a well-lit room with no strong shadows on the card.
3. Make sure all four corners of the card are visible on the screen. The app will only take a picture when it detects the full card.
4. Moving your phone closer or farther from the card if it is not scanning can help trigger the autofocus functionality on the camera, which can help the app detect the card.