BOSTON (WHDH) - Approximately 1,000 Boston residents will be asked to participate in a coronavirus antibody test study, officials said.
The test will include residents from East Boston, Roslindale and Dorchester who are asymptomatic, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s office announced Sunday.
The tests will be administered by Massachusetts General Hospital this week in partnership with the Boston Public Health Commission.
“I think a lot of people are kind of curious now of how we take the next step to open up society again,” Walsh said. “This information will help inform us about how we do that.”
But that decision will be a tough one, Walsh said.
“Closing things down seemed very difficult at the time but it was one of the easier decisions we had to make,” Walsh said. “Making the decision how to reopen is going to be more complicated, more tricky.”
Rather than a nasal swab, which is required for COVID-19 testing, blood samples will be taken from a participant’s finger to see if there are any antibodies present that are responding to the infection.
Information from this study will provide researchers with more information on the disease and on antibodies.
Officials say participation is voluntary.
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