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Brookline Plans Randomized COVID-19 Antibody Testing Of Residents

BROOKLINE (CBS) – The town of Brookline will perform COVID-19 antibody testing on randomly selected residents next week in partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital and Fallon Ambulance Service.

The town said it will test 200 first responders and 400 residents who have shown no symptoms of COVID-19. The selection process was conducted using randomized town census data, and residents will be notified by mail of their selection.

The testing is voluntary and aims to identify how much the coronavirus has spread undetected in the community.

"Having a sample size level understanding of the prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies among residents and first responders is a critical step in building our understanding of the true size and scale of the COVID-19 pandemic," Director of Public Health Dr. Swannie Jett said.

Testing will be done with a finger-stick test, and residents will be notified of the results. Only those invited by mail may participate, and participants should wear a face-covering to the test and bring their consent form and letter of selection

First responders will be tested on May 11. Residents will be tested on May 15 at a drive-through event at Larz Anderson Park.

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