Qatar Biobank conducts study on long-term impact of COVID-19 and vaccine

Qatar Biobank is conducting two separate studies on the impact of COVID-19 infection and the effect of the vaccines. Data and samples are collected from people infected with the virus and those who took the vaccine in Qatar and followed up their health status for a year to find the effect said an official. 

The COVID-19 Biorepository study conducted follow-ups on the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th months, to track the participants' health and the effect of the virus on the body and immunity, said Dr. Marwa A Eldeeb, Medical Office Manager at Qatar Biobank. 

Patients with a laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19, who were Qatar residents, were eligible to participate in the study with their consent. COVID-19 diagnosed patients were recruited at the time of their disease period from the main three public hospitals (Communicable Disease Center, Cuban, and Hazm Mebaireek Hospitals) serving as isolation facilities for symptomatic patients in Qatar. 

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Qatar Scientific Reference and Research Taskforce (SRRT) selected Qatar Biobank to be the key institution to manage the design and set up of the COVID-19 Biorepository and the principal investigators are Dr. Abdulatif Alkhal and Dr. Asmaa Al Thani. The investigators and colleagues at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Communicable Disease Center (CDC), Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), and Qatar Biobank for Medical Research (QBB) are conducting this research. 

The COVID-19 Biorepository enables medical research on the COVID-19 outbreak in Qatar. The collection of biological samples and information on health and lifestyle from large numbers of patients infected with COVID-19 in Qatar, compared with the prevalence in different countries in the world, and developing a database and catalog of biologic samples from these patients. This will facilitate future studies that could illuminate the pathophysiologic mechanisms and identify markers of disease prognosis as well as describe the clinical features and epidemiology of COVID-19 in Qatar,” said Dr. Eldeeb.

Source: Thepeninsulaqatar