Most of MLB, including Mariners, taking part in coronavirus study
Apr 14, 2020, 4:46 PM
MLB is participating in a study that will see 27 teams tested. (AP)
(AP)
Tuesday afternoon ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news that MLB is participating in a study that aims to test 10,000 people in the coming days for coronavirus antibodies with the intent of getting a better idea of just how widespread the disease has been in major cities throughout the country. Of the 30 MLB teams, 27 are participating in the study. I highly recommend you read the article which can be found here.
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It is important to note that these are rapid antibody tests which determine if antibodies are present in the subjects, which would indicate that person had been infected with the coronavirus and recovered. These are not tests that determine if a person actually has COVID-19 and in no way hinder coronavirus testing in any communities.
The study is being carried out by Stanford University, USC, and Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory. According to the article, researchers found MLB attractive as a test group because of the coordinated logistics and diversity of subjects with players, front office members and stadium workers participating throughout the country. This included the Mariners, who received 200 test kits. Those who signed up to be a part of the study were either mailed or scheduled to pick up a test kit at a safe location with appropriate social distancing taking place. The tests, which were designed to be executed at home, involved a finger prick which the subject then mixed with a solution with results being yielded in 10 minutes.
With the ability to accumulate the data in just a matter of days, the research group hopes to publish a peer-reviewed paper that should give our first indication of how extensive the spread of the disease has been to date. While the test results may bring peace of mind to those who take part in the study, the article stresses that they are not in any way linked to the possible resumption of baseball.
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