Biospecimen Collection During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives: Millions of biospecimens will be collected during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As learned from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), proper biospecimen handling is necessary to prevent laboratory-related infections.

Methods: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) interim biosafety guidelines continue to be updated. Presented here are additional considerations intended to complement the interim guidance. These considerations draw on prior SARS recommendations and recent COVID-19 reports.

Results: SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA has been detected in various biospecimen types; however, studies are needed to determine whether viral load indicates viable virus. Throughout the pandemic, biospecimens will be collected for various purposes from COVID-19 known and suspected cases, as well as presymptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Current data suggest the pandemic start may be as early as October 2019; thus, all biospecimens collected since could be considered potentially infectious.

Conclusions: All entities handling these biospecimens should do risk assessments in accordance with institutional policies and adhere to any guidance provided. The scientific community has a responsibility to safely handle and maintain all biospecimens collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon, it will be imperative to convene expert working groups to address the current and long-term storage and use of these biospecimens. Ideally, worldwide guidelines will be established to protect the personnel handling these biospecimens and communities at large.