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The US Department of Veterans Affairs Science and Health Initiative to Combat Infectious and Emerging Life-Threatening Diseases (VA SHIELD): A Biorepository Addressing National Health Threats.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Harley, JB; Pyarajan, S; Partan, ES; Epstein, L; Wertheim, JA; Diwan, A; Woods, CW; Davey, V; Blair, S; Clark, DH; Kaufman, KM; Khan, S ...
Published in: Open Forum Infect Dis
December 2022

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has demonstrated the need to share data and biospecimens broadly to optimize clinical outcomes for US military Veterans. METHODS: In response, the Veterans Health Administration established VA SHIELD (Science and Health Initiative to Combat Infectious and Emerging Life-threatening Diseases), a comprehensive biorepository of specimens and clinical data from affected Veterans to advance research and public health surveillance and to improve diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities. RESULTS: VA SHIELD now comprises 12 sites collecting de-identified biospecimens from US Veterans affected by SARS-CoV-2. In addition, 2 biorepository sites, a data processing center, and a coordinating center have been established under the direction of the Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development. Phase 1 of VA SHIELD comprises 34 157 samples. Of these, 83.8% had positive tests for SARS-CoV-2, with the remainder serving as contemporaneous controls. The samples include nasopharyngeal swabs (57.9%), plasma (27.9%), and sera (12.5%). The associated clinical and demographic information available permits the evaluation of biological data in the context of patient demographics, clinical experience and management, vaccinations, and comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: VA SHIELD is representative of US national diversity with a significant potential to impact national healthcare. VA SHIELD will support future projects designed to better understand SARS-CoV-2 and other emergent healthcare crises. To the extent possible, VA SHIELD will facilitate the discovery of diagnostics and therapeutics intended to diminish COVID-19 morbidity and mortality and to reduce the impact of new emerging threats to the health of US Veterans and populations worldwide.

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Published In

Open Forum Infect Dis

DOI

ISSN

2328-8957

Publication Date

December 2022

Volume

9

Issue

12

Start / End Page

ofac641

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • 3207 Medical microbiology
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Harley, J. B., Pyarajan, S., Partan, E. S., Epstein, L., Wertheim, J. A., Diwan, A., … Bonomo, R. A. (2022). The US Department of Veterans Affairs Science and Health Initiative to Combat Infectious and Emerging Life-Threatening Diseases (VA SHIELD): A Biorepository Addressing National Health Threats. Open Forum Infect Dis, 9(12), ofac641. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofac641
Harley, John B., Saiju Pyarajan, Elizabeth S. Partan, Lauren Epstein, Jason A. Wertheim, Abhinav Diwan, Christopher W. Woods, et al. “The US Department of Veterans Affairs Science and Health Initiative to Combat Infectious and Emerging Life-Threatening Diseases (VA SHIELD): A Biorepository Addressing National Health Threats.Open Forum Infect Dis 9, no. 12 (December 2022): ofac641. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofac641.
Harley JB, Pyarajan S, Partan ES, Epstein L, Wertheim JA, Diwan A, Woods CW, Davey V, Blair S, Clark DH, Kaufman KM, Khan S, Chepelev I, Devine A, Cameron P, McCann MF, Ammons MCB, Bolz DD, Battles JK, Curtis JL, Holodniy M, Marconi VC, Searles CD, Beenhouwer DO, Brown ST, Moorman JP, Yao ZQ, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Mohapatra S, Molina De Rodriguez OY, Padiernos EB, McIndoo ER, Price E, Burgoyne HM, Robey I, Schwenke DC, Shive CL, Przygodzki RM, Ramoni RB, Krull HK, Bonomo RA. The US Department of Veterans Affairs Science and Health Initiative to Combat Infectious and Emerging Life-Threatening Diseases (VA SHIELD): A Biorepository Addressing National Health Threats. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Dec;9(12):ofac641.
Journal cover image

Published In

Open Forum Infect Dis

DOI

ISSN

2328-8957

Publication Date

December 2022

Volume

9

Issue

12

Start / End Page

ofac641

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • 3207 Medical microbiology
  • 3202 Clinical sciences