Salisbury- The City of Salisbury and the Salisbury Fire Department (SFD) have announced that fire department personnel have received the tests necessary to participate in COVID-19 Serology testing being conducted by the Maryland Department of Health.
Serology testing does not yield a positive or negative COVID result but instead tests for antibodies produced by the body in response to a previous infection. A small blood sample is collected from each first responder and sent for analysis at the State Public Health Laboratory.
In late September, Governor Hogan announced that there are currently seven jurisdictions participating in the study, Salisbury being one of them. “Our firefighters are on the front lines of emergency response, which greatly increases their risk of exposure to COVID-19,” said Governor Hogan. “Serology testing helps our health officials determine the prevalence of the virus, so we can have a better idea about how to prevent transmission and help protect our essential workforce.”
This initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Maryland Department of Health and the Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland of the International Association of Fire Fighters. In the coming months, MDH plans to expand the antibody testing to all first responders.
“Every day our members face the potential of countless exposures to COVID-19, so we certainly appreciate the opportunity to participate in this very important study,” said Salisbury Fire Chief John Tull. “Our main goal is to do all we can to keep our members safe and minimize their risk. Hopefully, through our participation we can play a small part in helping to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 and the direct impact this virus is having on our first responders,” he added.
The data from these studies can be accessed here
For continuing updates on the COVID-19 in our community and across Delmarva, please continue to monitor our social media feeds, and our website, www.salisbury.md