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NYC COVID-19 Population Health and Serologic Surveys

NYC was an early epicenter of the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic, when testing capacity was limited and health care was prioritized for people with severe illness. Prior studies of the effects of COVID-19 in NYC relied on nonrandom convenience samples or assessed seroprevalence in specific populations. The NYC Population Health Survey and Serological Surveys for COVID-19 aim to address these gaps.

NYC COVID-19 Population Health Survey

In March 2020, the Health Department implemented the NYC COVID-19 Population Health Survey. This is a representative population-based survey aimed at understanding past COVID-19 infection in association with demographics, housing, employment and other characteristics. As the pandemic progresses, there is increased attention on the systemic effects of the virus on the overall health of NYC residents.

The 2020 COVID-19 Population Health Survey was offered as a question module during the 2020 Community Health Survey. Documentation of the Community Health Survey methodology provides detailed information about the survey’s target population, sampling plan, weighting processes, and historic response rates.

NYC COVID-19 Serosurvey

In June 2020, the Health Department began implementing the NYC COVID-19 Serosurvey, a representative cross-sectional survey using serological data and self-reported antibody test results. Case counts do not tell us the true number of NYC residents who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

Coronavirus serosurveys collect and test blood samples from a randomly chosen group of people to estimate the percent of people who have antibodies against the virus.

Prior to the availability of vaccines, the results from the serosurvey helped us understand if people who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies had COVID-19 symptoms, or if any population groups were more likely than others to be infected. Since the introduction of vaccines in December 2020, serosurvey results help us monitor and understand which populations in NYC may be at higher risk to severe disease outcomes.

Data collection for the NYC COVID-19 Serosurvey ended in December 2022 after four successful surveys. Thank you to all who participated!

Find Health Department Publications that use COVID-19 Surveys data.

COVID-19 Surveys Public Use Data

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2021 Data

Data from the COVID-19 Population Health Survey are included in the 2021 Community Health data and are available by completing the EPI data request form.

Data for this survey were collected as a supplementary module to the 2021 Community Health Survey, an annual, population-based cross-sectional survey that provides data on a broad range of health topics and social and behavioral risk factors. All participants were asked the COVID-19 Population Health Survey questions.

Data from the 2021 COVID-19 Serosurvey, collected from participating 2010 CHS respondents between April and October 2021, are available upon reasonable request by completing the EPI data request form.

2020 Data

Data from the COVID-19 Population Health Survey from March to August 2020 are available by completing the EPI data request form.

Data for this survey were collected as a supplementary module to the 2020 Community Health Survey, an annual, population-based cross-sectional survey that provides data on a broad range of health topics and social and behavioral risk factors. All participants were asked the COVID-19 Population Health Survey questions.

Data from the 2020 COVID-19 Serosurvey, collected from participating 2020 CHS respondents between June and October 2020, and the winter 2020/2021 COVID-19 Serosurvey, collected from responding Healthy NYC (PDF) panelists between November 2020 and March 2021, are available upon reasonable request by completing the EPI data request form.

We anticipate that data from subsequent rounds of the COVID-19 Population Health Survey, as well as data from the NYC Serosurvey, will become available upon request at a later date.