SHIELD Study: Using Naso-oropharyngeal Antiseptic Decolonization to Reduce COVID-19 Viral Shedding

Essential workers in positions with increased likelihood of exposure to SARS-CoC-2 will be most impacted by the proposed project. Evidence has shown that the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus is easily transmissable through close contact between individuals, especially during aerosol-generating procedures such as intubation of patients. The intervention proposed in this study (nasal and oral decontamination with povidone-iodine and chlorhexidine, respectively) presents an opportunity for a safe, effective, and feasible treatment to decontaminate the primary entry points for SARS-CoV-2. As such, the intervention to be studied in this project may protect healthcare and other essential workers by preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from patients to healthcare workers, as well as the general public to essential worker,. and thus reducing the incidence of COVID-19 in these workers.