Police COVID-19 Serosurvey (PoliCOV)

Police Officer COVID-19 Seroprevalence Survey in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland

The investigators aim to determine the immune status of the employees of the cantonal police of Bern against SARS-CoV-2 over a period of 1 year, and to investigate the risk profile of the study participants and their risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in their working and private environments, as well as to evaluate the use of personal protective equipment at potential exposure instances.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy; Volunteers; SARS-CoV-2 Infection
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Blood sampling; Other: Online Questionnaire

Detailed Description

i) To determine the extent of infection with seroprevalence data in the special population of police officers of the canton Bern.

ii) To determine risk factors for infection by comparing the proportion of seropositivity (infected versus noninfected individuals). The investigators hypothesize that police officers with fieldwork activity will have a higher seroprevalence than will office and administration personnel. The investigators hypothesize that working in the city of Bern will be associated with a higher seroprevalence than will working in other geographic areas of the canton (i.e. rural area).

iii) To monitor COVID-19 antibody titres and neutralizing capacity over time and to associate them with reinfection rates and infection-free intervals in police officers after accidental contact with a proven COVID-19 case. The investigators hypothesize that in seropositive individuals, there will be a decreasing dynamic of antibody titres over the one-year study period, and hence, a decrease of neutralizing capacity.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 1024

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Canton of Bern
    • Bern, Canton of Bern, Switzerland, 3010
      • University of Bern, Institute for Infectious Diseases

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Employees of the cantonal police of Bern, Switzerland

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Police officers of the cantonal police of Bern volunteering to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Refusal or inability to give informed consent or contraindication to venepuncture.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Seroprevalence	The variable of primary interest is COVID-19 seropositivity. This variable is measured at five time points over the one-year study period. The following baseline factors may have an influence on the primary endpoint and will be obtained: (i) pre-existing comorbidities, (ii) rural versus city distribution of working place, and (iii) office work versus field work.	One year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Risk profile assessment	The investigators will assess the proportion of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases among seropositive participants. The investigators will calculate the attack rate in different subgroup. These include (i) study participants with health-related risk factors (age>50 and age>60 years, diabetes, arterial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease, immune-compromised status due to host diseases, medical treatment, cancer, obesity), (ii) activity-related subgroups (i.e. fieldwork vs office activity), (iii) geography-related subgroups (i.e. city vs rural areas). In follow-up visits, the antibody titers (i.e. dynamic) and the neutralization capacity will be assessed. Thereby, the investigators will determine the change in serum levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies over time in seropositive participants.	One year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Bern
• Collaborators: Interregionale Blutspende SRK Bern
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Parham Sendi, MD, University of Bern

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Sendi P, Baldan R, Thierstein M, Widmer N, Gowland P, Gahl B, Buchi AE, Guntensperger D, Wider M, Blum MR, Tinguely C, Maillat C, Theel ES, Berbari E, Dijkman R, Niederhauser C. A Multidimensional Cross-Sectional Analysis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Seroprevalence Among a Police Officer Cohort: The PoliCOV-19 Study. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Oct 16;8(12):ofab524. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab524. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 9, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 19, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 24, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): November 25, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 21, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 17, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: COVID-19; Antibodies; SARS-COV-2; Seroprevalence
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Infections; Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Lung Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; COVID-19; Investigative Techniques; Specimen Handling; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Punctures; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Blood Specimen Collection
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2020-02650

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No