*This information was current on July 9, 2020. It is a rapidly moving pandemic thus this information could change.

There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), so the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. The CDC recommends that you:

• Wash your hands often
  • Soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
  • Use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not readily available.
• Avoid close contact
  • Inside your home: if possible, maintain 6 feet between the person who is sick and other household members.
  • Outside your home: put 6 feet of distance between yourself and people who don’t live in your household.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others
  • You could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick.
  • The cloth face cover is meant to protect other people in case you are infected.
  • The cloth face cover is especially important when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, but it is not a substitute for social distancing when it is possible.
  • Surgical masks and N95 respirators are critical supplies that should be reserved for healthcare workers and other first responders, but if you are wearing a disposable mask, please properly dispose of it in a trash can.
• Cover coughs and sneezes
  • Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and then throw the used tissue away in the trash.
  • Use the inside of your elbow and do not spit if you do not have a tissue.
  • Immediately wash your hands with soap and water or clean your hands with hand sanitizer.
• Clean and disinfect
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets and sinks.
• Monitor your health daily
  • Be alert for symptoms and take your temperature if symptoms develop.
  • Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.

• Direct exposure to a positive case: the CDC recommendation would be self-isolation for 14 days and testing only if symptoms develop.
• Indirect exposure to a positive case: in general, the recommendation would be self-monitoring. No need to isolate, but always wear a mask and social distance while being on the lookout for subtle symptoms.
• No knowledge of exposure: testing is not needed if you don’t have symptoms and you have no knowledge of an exposure to a positive case.

Symptoms can range from mild to severe illness, and appear 2-14 days after you are exposed to the virus. Be on the lookout for cough, fever, chills, muscle pain, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell. Please do not go directly to the emergency room without contacting your healthcare provider first. Tampa General Hospital is NOT a COVID-19 testing site.

• For early detection, the FDA approved test is a nasal swab analyzed by PCR. The CDC recommends testing only if symptoms develop.
• There are a number of ways to receive a nasal swab test in your area:
  • Call USF Health at (813) 974-2201 to make an appointment. The volume of symptomatic patients is so high, we may not be able to test those without symptoms unless the patient’s doctor recommends the test because of significant risk factors.

• • Hillsborough County walk up or drive-thru testing sites, by appointment only. Insurance not required.
    • For more information or to make an appointment, CALL (888) 513-6321 or register online at HillsboroughCounty.org/Coronavirus

• • Pinellas County walk up testing sites, by appointment only. Insurance not required.
    • CALL (727) 824-6900 to make an appointment. Visit COVID19.PinellasCounty.org/testing/ for more information.
  • Pinellas County drive-thru testing sites, no appointment necessary. Insurance not required.
    • Visit COVID19.PinellasCounty.org/testing/ for testing location information.

• • Sarasota County testing sites, by appointment only. Insurance not required.
    • Testing is prioritized for anyone currently experiencing symptoms and individuals who work in a health care setting.
    • CALL (941) 861-2883 to make an appointment. Visit SCGov.net for testing location information.
  • Sarasota and Manatee County walk up or drive-thru testing sites, no appointment necessary. Insurance not required.
    • Visit SCGov.net for testing location information and requirements.

• An antibody blood test can tell you if you had a previous infection. It is not recommended for early detection because it can take 1-3 weeks after infection to make antibodies. It is unknown at this time if having antibodies to the virus can protect someone from getting infected with the virus again, or how long that protection might last.

• Positive with no symptoms: you should stay home for 10 days according to CDC guidelines. The course is unpredictable and within 5 days, many will develop symptoms. As much as possible, separate yourself from other people in your household.
• Positive with symptoms: you will need to isolate for a complete 10 days starting the first day of symptoms and 3 days of being fever-free without treating to suppress a fever. You need to meet both criteria to be able to stop quarantine. As much as possible, separate yourself from other people in your household.
• Notify anyone who may have been exposed to you within the last two weeks to let them know about your positive test result so they can self-monitor.
• Only go to the hospital or call 911 for help if your symptoms escalate into a medical emergency. Notify the operator that you have COVID-19. If possible, put on a cloth face covering before medical help arrives. Most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home without medical care. Do not leave your home, except to get medical care.

• For information, visit USF Health’s COVID-19 patient resources page.
• Learn more about our Telehealth virtual appointments.
• This information was current on July 9, 2020. It is a rapidly moving pandemic thus this information could change.

USF Health has teamed up with Hillsborough County to offer COVID-19 testing to residents in several neighborhood community centers in Hillsborough County.

The effort is meant to make COVID-19 coronavirus testing as convenient as possible to all residents. The USF Health provider team will use nasopharyngeal swabs to collect specimens used in testing for COVID-19. New guidelines mean that testing is now available for all individuals with or without symptoms.

There are three community sites that have recently opened, that are in addition to the Raymond James Stadium testing site.

• Lee Davis Community Resource Center, 3402 N. 22nd St., Tampa
• Plant City Community Resource Center, 307 N. Michigan Ave., Plant City
• SouthShore Community Resource Center, 201 14th Ave. SE, Ruskin

On April 24, at the Lee Davis location, Florida Representative Dianne “Ms. Dee” Hart and Florida Senator Darryl Rouson joined Charles J. Lockwood, MD, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, as the health team swabbed local residents for the second day since opening.

At the April 24 testing site operation are, from left, Dr. Haywood Brown vice president for diversity, inclusion & equal opportunity for USF, associate dean for diversity at the Morsani College of Medicine and chief diversity officer for USF Health; Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine; Florida Senator Darryl Rouson; and Florida Representative Dianne Hart.

“We’re bringing it to the people who may need it the most,” said Sen. Rouson. “We’ve heard the terrible statistics and disparities of African American communities, low-income communities all across the nation.  Right now, Florida does not track the national average. But, it’s not to say that it won’t when things shake out.  We must get ahead of this curve.  By bringing (testing) to the community, we’re helping people who may have transportation challenges, location challenges, and we’re helping them stay healthy.”

Local news media also attended the April 24 testing site operation. Dr. Charles Lockwood answers reporters’ questions.

Drive-thru testing is free at all Hillsborough County testing sites and insurance is not required. All individuals can be tested, with or without symptoms. Pre-registration and appointments are through Hillsborough County’s call center at (813) 272-5900, and walk-up testing is also available. The call center is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

TAMPA, FL, SOMERVILLE, MA, and NEW HYDE PARK, NY – March 28, 2020 – The University of South Florida (USF) Health, Formlabs, a leading 3D printing company, and Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider, today announced they have successfully produced and tested a 3D printed nasal swab to address emergency shortages that hospitals and health care teams may face as testing for COVID-19 increases.

Key milestones in testing the swabs were conducted by USF Health faculty researchers in the Departments of Radiology and Infectious Diseases in collaboration with Northwell Health, including validation testing (24-hour, 3-day, and leeching), and rapid clinical testing at Northwell Health and Tampa General Hospital. All testing showed that the 3D printed nasal swabs perform equally to standard swabs used for testing for COVID-19.

After identifying that nasal swabs for testing COVID-19 were in high demand and extremely limited in supply, a team from the USF Health’s 3D Clinical Applications Division created an initial design, working with Northwell Health and collaborating with Formlabs to develop prototypes and secure materials for a 3D printed alternative. Over the span of one week, the teams worked together to develop a nasal swab prototype and test it in the USF Health and Northwell Health labs. In two days, USF Health and Northwell Health, using Formlabs’ 3D printers and biocompatible, autoclavable resins, developed prototypes. The swabs were tested by clinicians at Northwell Health, USF Health and Tampa General Hospital for patient safety and comfort. Now that clinical validation is complete, 3D printers at USF Health and Northwell Health will produce the swabs and provide them to their patients.

“This is a prime example of the incredible impact we can have on human lives when teams of experts across academia, health care delivery, and the tech industry come together,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “During this current COVID-19 outbreak, there is little time for delay, and the swift, agile and adept action of everyone on this effort will greatly improve this nation’s ability to test patients.”

Summer Decker, PhD, directs the 3D Clinical Applications Division in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and has been at the forefront of USF Health Radiology’s department trailblazing use of 3D modeling in clinical capacities.

“When we were notified of the shortage of swabs by Dr. Lockwood, we immediately began working as a team to create a novel design in a printed material that was proven safe for patients, as is Formlabs’ surgical grade resin,” said Summer Decker, PhD, associate professor in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director for 3D Clinical Applications in USF Health’s Department of Radiology. “We reached out to Northwell Health and Formlabs to work with us on this response initiative. With our collaborators in USF Health Infectious Diseases, we’ve been able to validate the printed swabs utility for this purpose and are extremely optimistic about the pending clinical testing results. With 3D printed swabs, we will be able to add thousands of swabs a day to testing kits developed here at USF Health, and treat more patients safely and effectively. We look forward to continuing to work with Northwell Health and Formlabs to further combat the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In addition to Drs. Lockwood and Decker, faculty from across USF joined in the design and creation of the 3D printed nasal swabs, including: Jonathan Ford, PhD, Todd Hazelton, MD, Gilberto Jaimes, Howard Kaplan, Kami Kim, MD, John Sinnott, MD, Michael Teng, PhD.

Jonathan Ford, PhD, a biomedical engineer in the USF Health 3D Lab, pulls newly printed nasal swabs made of specialized clinical/surgical material and ready to be used for testing for COVID-19.

“Northwell Health is proud to collaborate with Formlabs and USF to address the global health crisis of COVID-19,” said Todd Goldstein, PhD, Director of Northwell Health 3D Design and Innovation. “When we saw that the testing kits were limited in supply, our 3D printing lab immediately changed focus from creating materials for surgeries to designing and creating materials that help our front-line healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients. In one weekend, we worked together to develop a nasal swab prototype and test it in the lab. After our positive testing results, we then immediately went to work and have already started producing 1,000-1,500 swabs per day. Not only will these swabs be provided to Northwell Health patients, we are also proud to be sharing the design with other institutions that can 3D print so that patients across the country can benefit from our work.”

Formlabs’ CEO and co-founder, Max Lobovsky, said: “Formlabs has been working around the clock to provide assistance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re hopeful that our efforts will help patients get the care they need. It is important that the medical devices we supply to medical professionals on the frontlines battling this disease are safe and work effectively so as not to put workers or their patients at risk. By working hand-in-hand with Northwell Health and USF Health to design and safely produce these swabs, Formlabs is providing a viable solution to the current shortage of nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs and can now produce them at scale to help hospitals better treat patients.”

“During this unprecedented time, Tampa General Hospital is proud to unite with USF Health, Formlabs and Northwell Health to ultimately help save lives. I’ve been humbled and inspired by the perseverance, sacrifice and teamwork of our clinical teams collaborating to create the 3D printed nasal swabs to test patients in need, during emergency shortage situations. Thank you to Formlabs 3D printers for being a true partner to all of our physicians and teams working tirelessly to protect the health and safety of our community and beyond,” said John Couris, president & CEO of Tampa General Hospital.

It is worth noting that the “FDA believes that a nasopharyngeal specimen is the preferred choice for swab-based SARS-CoV-2 testing,” and that “collection should be conducted with a sterile swab.” With years of experience in the medical industry and hundreds of hospitals already using its technology to develop tools for surgery on-premises, Formlabs adheres to a wide range of required sterilization, regulatory, safety, biocompatibility, and manufacturing standards. The company produces sterilizable, surgical-grade plastics for use in medical and dental applications, and its FDA-registered manufacturing site has an ISO 13485 certification. By turning to proven 3D printing technology to improve production processes, shorten supply chains and localize manufacturing, healthcare providers can quickly and efficiently gain better access to the supplies they need to combat COVID-19.

Photos and video by Allison Long, USF Health Communications.