Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Major League Baseball wants to help, the Giants included.
Employees of 27 MLB clubs are participating in a COVID-19 study intended to gain better insight into just how widespread the virus is across the United States. Up to 10,000 people are expected to be tested for coronavirus antibodies that will show whether the person has been infected, even if he or she is asymptomatic. The Giants franchise is among the volunteers, a source said.
The Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory, in conjunction with Stanford University and USC, is conducting the study through rapid antibody tests. The principal researchers recently reached out to the Commissioner’s Office, seeking both employees and family members from teams, because of how geographically diverse the league is. The hope is the researchers will be able to glean information from all over the country with MLB’s by and large cooperation.
The test used in the study is not diagnostic and is separate from the PCR testing that many hospitals rely upon that determines if a person is currently infected.
Of all the sports, baseball has perhaps been hit hardest by the pandemic, which forced MLB to prematurely end spring training and now has the league scrambling for a way to play any part of this season.