BEACHWOOD, Ohio — About 100 people were tested at Lake Health Beachwood Medical Center Sunday to see if they have the antibodies that could prove crucial in fighting COVID-19. The medical center teamed up with Bikur Cholim, a local organization dedicated to serving Cleveland’s Jewish community, to make it happen.
“We got a number of requests from people from the community, saying that you know we had, we think we had COVID, we tested for COVID and we would love to give back, love to give back to the hospitals, let them put plasma in the hospitals and let's just be able to give back to everybody,” Dina Snitzer, Director of Operations for Bikur Cholim, said.
From there, the staff at Bikur Cholim formed a partnership with Lake Health, which is administering the tests for free, and the Mayo Clinic, which is testing the blood. Bikur Cholim did the marketing and outreach, which included posts at local synagogues and posts on social media.
“Took two minutes, they just took, you know, it's like going to the doctor having blood work done,” Samuel Feuer, who got tested at Sunday's testing, said. “Confirming that I actually did have antibodies will be a big relief.”
He was diagnosed with COVID-19 back in April.
“I had a fever for like 36 hours, I was fatigued for about a week. I lost my taste for like three to four weeks,” Feuer said.
If Feuer or any of the other people who were tested have antibodies, they will be called back to donate their plasma which will then be used to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients.
“We will be testing about 100 patients today with this drive, and the yield could be 50-70% so, to the degree that we would produce plasma for 70 patients, that’s 70 patients that have the ability to beat COVID and get back on their feet,” Chris Truax, Chief Administrative Officer for Lake Health Beachwood Medical Center, said.
Lake Health administrators say testing results should be available in about a week. People who test positive for antibodies will then donate plasma through the Red Cross.
More information about Bikur Cholim’s testing initiatives can be found on their Facebook page and giveyourplasma.org.
Jade Jarvis is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.
Rebound Northeast Ohio News 5's initiative to help people through the financial impact of the coronavirus by offering one place to go for information on everything available to help and how to access it. We're providing resources on:
Getting Back to Work - Learn about the latest job openings, how to file for benefits and succeed in the job market.
Making Ends Meet - Find help on topics from rent to food to new belt-tightening techniques.
Managing the Stress - Feeling isolated or frustrated? Learn ways to connect with people virtually, get counseling or manage your stress.
Doing What's Right - Keep track of the way people are spending your tax dollars and treating your community.
We're Open! Northeast Ohio is place created by News 5 to open us up to new ways of thinking, new ways of gathering and new ways of supporting each other.
Click here for a page with resources including a COVID-19 overview from the CDC, details on cases in Ohio, a timeline of Governor Mike DeWine's orders since the outbreak, coronavirus' impact on Northeast Ohio, and link to more information from the Ohio Department of Health, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, the CDC and the WHO.
See data visualizations showing the impact of coronavirus in Ohio, including county-by-county maps, charts showing the spread of the disease, and more.
The CDC and the Ohio Department of Health are now recommending the use of cloth face coverings in public to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Read more about the CDC's recommendation here. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make a face maskfrom common household materials, without having to know how to sew.
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
