Schools Need to be Safe in Order to Reopen
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, while there is hope as the new vaccine rollouts continue, there is still a level of uncertainty as to when it will be safe for people to resume their daily lives, including children and teachers returning back to school. Vaccine distribution is taking some time, and it is uncertain when all demographic groups will be protected. So, how do schools consider safely reopening until widespread vaccines are available, and, how do we continue to keep them safe once the vaccine has been widely distributed?
COVID-19 Testing: Current and Future Needs
While the historical reach and spread of the coronavirus is still relatively unknown, mass testing efforts for active infection, as well as antibody testing, continue to be conducted in an effort to fight the pandemic and save lives. Testing today versus one or more years from now will fall into two main categories: active infection and antibody testing.
Active Infection
Currently, for those that are experiencing symptoms and/or have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, point-of-care active infection testing provides information on whether someone has contracted the virus. As vaccines are rolled out, active infection testing will still be needed when someone begins to show symptoms of a flu-like virus.
Antibody Testing
Antibody testing for COVID-19 can help in a number of ways. Since antibodies remain in the bloodstream long after the infection has cleared, antibody testing provides the history of whether someone had the virus. For schools, this helps primarily by providing data on how widely the virus has historically circulated amongst children and staff. This data in turn informs the school if it has previously experienced a particularly high risk or not and needs to be extra-cautious or can relax rules. Antibody testing can also be used as a low-cost alternative to active infection testing for those teachers and students who have recovered from the virus.
The Vaccine and Antibody Testing's Role
As vaccines are rolled out, antibody tests, such as ours, will help ascertain that the vaccine has worked properly and that vaccinated individuals have developed antibodies and are protected. While there is still uncertainty around how long antibodies from the vaccine last, antibody testing will also play a roll in monitoring how long antibodies last created in response from the vaccine.
DDTD and Donated Antibody Testing to Schools
About Us
Drugs & Diagnostics for Tropical Diseases (DDTD) is a 501(c)(3) San Diego County based nonprofit that focuses on developing ultra-low-cost treatments and diagnostics for diseases that predominantly affect vulnerable populations.
DDTD embraces the idea of eliminating diseases that do not belong in the 21st century. DDTD primarily focuses on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), a group of diseases that afflicts 1 in 6 people, or approximately 1.4 billion individuals worldwide; as well as diseases that affect impoverished populations.
Due to the nature of our organization and its focus on developing diagnostics for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), we are primarily funded through government grants that are specifically earmarked for work on these diseases. Because of our years spent developing tests for NTDs, we have achieved a remarkably sensitive diagnostic development platform and our NTD tests can be more than 10 times more sensitive than comparable devices sold by diagnostic giants.
It was therefore a natural extension for us to customize our platform to the detection of COVID-19 antibodies. True to our mission, we have developed a high-quality, low-cost COVID-19 antibody test that has 90% sensitivity and 100% specificity. We have completed our clinical trial and are submitting an application for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Donated Testing to Schools
We plan to manufacture an initial batch of 100,000 antibody tests, of which 40,000 will be donated to schools. As DDTD continues to manufacture additional tests, for every two tests sold, we will donate one to schools.
How You Can Support Your Schools
Due to the nature of our organization and its focus on developing diagnostics for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), we are primarily funded through government grants that are specifically earmarked for work on these diseases. DDTD therefore needs the support of individuals in order to commercialize and donate COVID-19 antibody tests.
DDTD has developed a unique opportunity for you to support our organization's efforts, while at the same time nominating or designating which schools will receive the donated antibody tests.
Supporters can give at any level, and certain levels provide the ability to nominate or designate a school to receive donated tests (pending school acceptance). Giving levels and benefits are as follows:
Support Levels
$25 - Supports 2 tests for schools
$50 - Supports 5 tests to schools
$100 - Supports 10 tests to schools, enables "nominate a school" to receive a donation
$500 - Supports 50 tests to schools, enables "nominate a school" to receive a donation, recognition of your donation through social media and on the DDTD website
$1,000 - Supports 100 tests to schools, enables "designation of a school" to receive a donation (# of tests donated not guaranteed)
$2,500 - Supports 250 tests to schools, enables "designation of a school" to receive a donation (# of tests donated guaranteed)
$5,000 - Supports 500 tests to schools, enables "designation of a school" to receive a donation (# of tests donated guaranteed), arranged testing onsite at DDTD for friends and family (if in the San Diego area)
$10,000 - Supports 1,000 tests to schools, enables "designation of a school" to receive a donation (# of tests donated guaranteed), arranged testing onsite at DDTD for friends and family (if in the San Diego area), and a presentation ceremony with top school staff (socially distanced) with a plaque in your name to be given with the donated tests.
For nominations and designations, schools must be open and willing to receive donated COVID-19 antibody tests. Supporters who give at a level that enables "nominate a school" or "designation of a school" will be contacted directly by one of DDTD's staff to obtain information on their school of choice.
DDTD will also be opening an online portal where schools will be able to sign up to be considered for a donation from the pool of funding we receive that is not designated to specific schools.
Testing Commercialization and Distribution
COVID-19 antibody test commercialization; which includes manufacturing, production, and distribution, will be highly dependent on the level of funding raised from the Indiegogo campaign. If DDTD can reach our goal of $200,000 by the end of January, we anticipate that we will be able to have tests commercialized and ready for distribution by the end of March 2021.
Distribution of the donated tests will be first focused on the San Diego area, where on-site coordination with schools that are receiving the tests can be managed. DDTD is moving forward with a Phase II of EUA from the FDA for point-of-care distribution, which, once approved, will enable school nurses to do testing directly and not require an onsite member of our staff and/or coordinate of a medium complexity lab. Once we receive EUA for Phase II, we will begin coordinating shipments of tests directly to schools outside of the San Diego area. We anticipate filing in the Spring of 2021, with the goal of getting tests to schools outside of San Diego before the school year starts in the fall of 2021.
