Help us ramp up on-campus activities safely!
Join the Berkeley Safe Campus Initiative to play an integral role in protecting our community from COVID-19.
Please note there is another, similar study happening by researchers in the School of Public Health, with a focus on the general population rather than the campus. You may have received a postcard in the mail inviting you to apply; you are encouraged to participate in both of these if eligible! But you need to apply separately for each.
Eligibility requirements:
- Currently working on the UC Berkeley campus, or expected to resume working on campus in the month of June 2020
- Working in one of the following services/departments:
- University Health Services (including Optometry and personnel testing UHS specimens at IGI),
- UCPD,
- Facilities (including dept/building coordinators),
- Facilities Services (including custodial),
- Environmental Health & Safety,
- the Office of Laboratory Animal Care,
- Cal Athletics (athletic strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, and athletic team doctors),
- Cal Dining, and
- Emergency Childcare
- age 18 or older
- Able to functionally speak and read English or Spanish
Get Started
Any personal contact information you provide for the screening questionnaire will be stored securely, used only for secure research-related communication with you.
During the Summer
End of Summer
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any questions not answered by the below, please reach out to us at safecampus@berkeley.edu
What is this study for?
This study is designed to evaluate the risks of COVID-19 and community mitigation strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission among essential workers at UC Berkeley.
This study is a critical piece of UC Berkeley’s plans to understand the safety of returning to campus for faculty, staff, and students in the fall, as well as contributing to developing and improving public health strategies to mitigate transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), including personal protective measures, environmental surface cleaning, adaptive surveillance systems to detect infectious disease, and social distancing during campus activities.
How do I get started?
First, take our screening survey here: http://is.gd/safeessentials. If you are eligible for the study, we’ll ask you to sign some paperwork, take a baseline questionnaire that will take about 30 minutes, and go to University Health Services to have some specimens collected (an oral/nasal swab or saliva collection and blood draw). Then you’ll officially be enrolled.
Who is conducting the study?
The study is being conducted by a team of investigators at the University of California, Berkeley. The study is led by Maya Petersen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Art Reingold, MD, PhD, Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health. In addition, the research team includes: Drs. Guy Nicolette and Anna Harte from University Health Services; Drs. Jennifer Doudna and Fyodor Urnov from the Innovative Genomics Institute; and Laura Packel, PhD, Lauren Hunter, MPH and Shelley Facente, MPH, from the School of Public Health. We’re also working closely with people from the City of Berkeley Public Health Division, and UC Berkeley’s Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society.
Will individual results be communicated to study participants?
University Health Services will notify you of the results of your testing for current SARS-CoV-2 infection (the oral/nasal swab or saliva collection) within a week of the specimens being collected. The results of serological testing (using the blood specimen to look for antibodies which may indicate past infection with COVID-19) will be provided at the end of the study, since that is when we will actually test the blood specimens for antibodies.
What happens after I enroll?
We plan to enroll 1,000 essential workers at UC Berkeley to participate in the study. After they complete the baseline survey and have specimens collected, participants will be asked to take their temperature every morning, and complete a daily survey (less than 3 minutes of time) about any symptoms or risks for exposure to COVID-19. At the end of the summer the study will end, and then participants will be asked to take one last 30-minute survey and have an oral/nasal swab or saliva collection and blood draw once more at University Health Services.
Some people may be asked to go to University Health Services for an additional specimen collection (oral or nasal) for COVID-19 testing during the summer. This will only happen for anyone who reports symptoms or close exposure to someone who is infected (as needed) or by random selection (up to 2 times).
What else do I need to know?
Your privacy is very important to us. Any personal contact information you provide for the screening questionnaire will be stored securely, used only for secure research-related communication with you, and not shared with anyone outside of the study investigators at UC Berkeley. Note that the results of all SARS-CoV-2 testing (whether positive, negative, or inconclusive) will also be reported to the California Department of Public Health as currently mandated by law. Anyone who is found to have active SARS-CoV-2 infection will be referred to the health department in the county where they live for follow up and contact tracing, also required by law. Your privacy will be heavily protected by those health departments!
To learn more about COVID-19, please visit the websites of the California Department of Public Health, the CDC, or the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.