A father-son team that includes a Georgia Institute of Technology professor has launched Count COVID – a survey that tracks symptoms of participants in an effort to assess the spread of COVID-19.
Initial data has been gathered, and the survey is now being expanded, as the number of confirmed cases continues to rise, according to a press release from the organization.
The survey – developed by Dr. David Ku and his son, Ben Ku – prompts participants to fill out six questions via the online questionnaire on a daily basis, even if they are asymptomatic.
The data gathered can help track COVID-19 symptoms to identify geographic patterns in the virus outbreak, as well as locations where the virus is subsiding. This allows health officials to track symptoms and direct appropriate resources.
The information gathered helps determine if areas are approaching herd immunity and provides a better understanding of COVID-19 prevalence to allow local officials to evaluate potential adjustments to ordinances without widespread testing.
“Other forms of testing are expensive and, unfortunately, not widely available. The sampling of data generated by Count COVID provides reliable estimates of community infection rapidly and at minimal costs,” said Dr. David Ku in the release. “We’ve all been touched in one way or another by COVID-19. And there are still not enough tests for everyone. This is an easy way we can all give back and help track the virus.”
Initial findings show a community prevalence of 7 percent in Georgia – this is approximately 40 times greater than reported confirmed cases. These findings were analyzed from 3,161 cases reported to CountCOVID.org . The results indicate that prevalence and incidence of COVID-19 symptoms in the community can be estimated by a crowd-sourced website like CountCOVID.org at considerably less expense than widespread PCR testing.
Dr. David Ku is the Lawrence P. Huang Chair Professor of Engineering Entrepreneurship at Georgia Tech, a Regents’ Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship’s Program for Engineering Entrepreneurship. His work is supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Heart Association. Ben Ku is an established programming expert and a commissioner for Gwinnett County.
The website for the survey was developed by doctors, scientists and engineers at Georgia Tech, Emory School of Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Gwinnett County government officials.
Participants can take the survey by visiting www.countcovid.org and are encouraged to take the survey daily, even if they feel well. All data captured by the survey is anonymous and secure.
