PURPOSE OF STUDY
- The HEROS study will help researchers determine:
- how common coronavirus infection is, particularly in children and those with asthma and allergies
- how the coronavirus spreads from person to person
- how common it is to have an infection without symptoms, and how the immune system and the nose reacts if the coronavirus is there.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE PARTICIPATE
- Only families who are already participating in a local research study may qualify to volunteer for HEROS. Eligible families will be contacted by their local study personnel. Visit the Study Sites page to see which local studies are part of the HEROS study.
- One child and one caregiver in the same family who live in the same home are needed to volunteer.
- Another caregiver and another child (up to age 21) living in the same family home may also volunteer.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- The study will follow families for 6 months.
- The entire study will be completed in the home.
- Participants will:
- complete surveys and review information on a smartphone, computer or over the phone, including instructional videos,
- collect nose, stool, and blood (using an automatic device placed on the skin) samples using kits sent to the home via FedEx and mail samples to the study lab in pre-paid packaging, and
- if someone becomes ill, complete additional surveys and collect additional samples.
- Study participants will be compensated for their time.
Click here to find out more about the study
Please note that at this time study results will not be available to share with study participants. The samples that are collected will be stored and tested altogether by a research laboratory at a later time. Most research laboratories are not certified to report results for clinical purposes.
The HEROS Study is funded by The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)