On Apr. 9, 2020, Chembio Diagnostics has been selected for use in a Stony Brook Medicine effort to recruit patients who have recovered from COVID-19 infection. The study is intended to determine if convalescent blood plasma, the plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19, can help treat hospitalized patients with active COVID-19 infection.

In early April, Stony Brook University Hospital received FDA approval to offer convalescent blood plasma treatment to its patients through a randomized, controlled study and is expected to enroll up to 500 patients from the Long Island area. The Chembio DPP COVID-19 test is being used to confirm that patients were infected with COVID-19 and now have adequate levels of IgG antibodies to make them eligible to donate convalescent plasma.