MOH Needs Recovered Malaysians To Help With Country's COVID-19 Immunity Research
The research is important to find out if a person's neutralised antibodies can prevent reinfection.
By May Vin Ang — 14 Oct 2020, 03:50 PM
If you have been tested positive with COVID-19 before, the Ministry of Health (MOH) needs your help in a study on immunity
In a Facebook post, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah appealed for assistance from recovered patients who were infected with the novel coronavirus before.
"A group of researchers from the ministry's Institute of Medical Research (IMR) is inviting Malaysians who have been previously infected by the novel coronavirus to join a medical study," he said.
The study is called the 'Longitudinal Study of Neutralising Antibody Response Among COVID-19 Patients in Malaysia'
The research is important to find out if neutralised antibodies in the blood of a previously infected patient can prevent a second infection, explained the Health D-G.
"Your blood is precious for us to determine the immunity against COVID-19 and to improve the understanding of antibody response among COVID-19 patients at different time frames," reads IMR's poster that he shared.
A couple of days ago, NPR reported that a 25-year-old American man, who was infected twice with the coronavirus earlier this year, has become the fifth confirmed reinfection case worldwide.
The research has been approved by the Medical Research Ethics Committee (MREC) to be conducted from August 2020 to July 2022
If you are interested to help, please contact Dr Rafiza Shaharudin at +603-33627753 or Dr Masita Arip at +603-33627735.
