I landed in Puerto Rico on May 26th, since then I have been completing a slew of paperwork and checking in with the CDC main office in San Juan. I traveled to Ponce and explored the city before starting my first day on the 2nd.
Upon the arrival on my first day, I was given a tour of the office in the medical office of the Centro Médico Episcopal San Lucas. I will be working on 3 different projects and shadowed all three the past week. Below is a brief overview of my understanding of each program.
Day 1 & 4: COPA program: This is the long-term longitudinal study that involves going to recruited members houses to take blood samples and interview for mosquito exposure and perception.
Day 2: COCOVID program: This is a nested cohort study within the COPA program adapted for the COVID-19 pandemic. This involves the weekly collection of nasal swabs of participants.
Day 3: SEDS program: Symptomatic surveillance within the hospital. Patients with arboviral symptoms are identified and recruited, Blood samples and nasal swabs are taken.