University of Arizona Will Administer Antibody Tests

Governor Doug Ducey announced on Tuesday a partnership between the state of Arizona and the University of Arizona to provide antibody tests for 250,000 health care professionals and first responders who are on the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19. 

The University of Arizona will administer the antibody tests to check for antibodies through an individual’s blood sample to determine if they were exposed to COVID-19, had the virus and recovered. The state and the university are working together to quickly get approval from the federal government to move forward with the testing. 

“Antibody testing is not a cure-all, but learning more about it is an important step to identifying community exposure, helping us make decisions about how we protect our citizens, and getting us to the other side of this pandemic more quickly,” Governor Ducey said. “Our health care workers and first responders are on the front lines, and my top priority is to identify ways to protect them and I am eager to get this underway.”

“Governor Ducey is taking the next step in this battle by providing important antibody tests for vulnerable frontline workers,” University of Arizona President Bobby Robbins said. “The more testing that is done, the clearer the road map to recovery. As a premier research institution in the country, the UofA is ready and poised to provide this service to the state of Arizona.”

View additional information on Arizona’s response efforts HERE and daily updates HERE. 

View information on COVID-19, resources and volunteer opportunities at ArizonaTogether.org.