Language
English
Publication Date
12-1-2022
Journal
Open Forum Infectious Diseases
DOI
10.1093/ofid/ofac641
PMID
36601554
PMCID
PMC9801224
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
12-14-2022
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Abstract
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.
Keywords
biological specimen banks, communicable diseases, COVID-19 sequence analysis, data warehousing, government agencies, health policy, public health surveillance, Veterans health
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Harley, John B; Pyarajan, Saiju; Partan, Elizabeth S; 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" (2022). Faculty and Staff Publications. 4656.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/4656