Design for a mail survey to determine prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) antibodies in the United States

Abstract

Although daily counts of the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, referred to in
this paper as COVID-19) infections and deaths are reported by several sources
online, precise estimation of the proportion of the population that has been ex-
posed to COVID-19 is not possible in most areas of the world. With other out-
breaks, estimates of disease prevalence in the United States are often obtained
through in-person seroprevalence surveys, which involve population-based sampling, interviewer-administered questionnaires, and specimen collection. The
current situation of testing availability only for individuals with symptoms,
combined with stay-at-home and social distancing mandates to stem the spread
of COVID-19, limit in-person data collection options. A probability-based mail
survey with at-home, self-administered testing is a feasible method to safely
estimate COVID-19 antibody prevalence within the United States while also
easing burden on the U.S. public and health care system. This mail survey
could be a one-time, cross-sectional design, or a repeated cross-sectional or longitudinal survey. We discuss several options for the design and conduct of this
survey.