Maryland health officials have launched a program to test the antibody levels of 500 nursing home residents and determine how many seniors are in need of COVID-19 booster shots. 

The pilot program, which requires blood draws, was first reported by the Baltimore Sun. It cited state documents about the initiative and Maryland’s $842,600 contract with LabCorp to conduct the testing.

A recent study showed nursing home populations could experience waning COVID immunity faster than other populations. Yale University researchers found that repeat positive tests, and excess deaths, were more common in a study involving all Connecticut facilities.

The Food and Drug Administration has given emergency use authorization of a third Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shot to serve as a booster for the immunocompromised. Federal health officials also announced that long-term care residents will be among the first to receive COVID-19 boosters once distribution begins this fall, possibly in September. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday updated its guidance on who should be considered immunocompromised. Some critics have questioned whether seniors will benefit from additional shots.

The Maryland study is expected to run through late August and last for two weeks, according to the Sun’s report. Additional rounds of testing are also expected to occur over the course of the year in hopes to assess antibody levels in residents of nursing homes and other congregate care settings to see how at risk the groups are for future infections and outbreaks. 

“I like the emphasis on seniors, but this vulnerability is something already shown; We mostly already know the answer to what Maryland appears to be asking,” Andrew Pekosz, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, told the Sun.  “But there is benefit to this, absolutely. Given the increased disease potential, it’s not a bad idea to make sure we oversample certain populations to make sure we have a good understanding.”