Beaumont Health has launched a research study that will allow participants to monitor their immunity to COVID-19 for the next two years.
The study, COVID-19 Vaccination Elicited Response or “COVER,” is designed to better understand how a person develops vaccine-induced COVID-19 antibodies and how long they last. Researchers are particularly interested in the immune response in people who are immune-compromised, like transplant patients or those who take immunosuppressive drugs for autoimmune conditions.
“The more people know about their vaccine response, the better they’re able to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said the study’s principal investigator and immunologist, Gabriel Maine, Ph.D., at Beaumont Health. “We’re particularly interested in people who are immune-compromised because they are some of the most vulnerable when it comes to the potentially devastating effects of COVID-19.”
Compensation for time and travel is available. The study is open to the first 1,000 people ages 18 or older to apply: 500 who are immune-compromised and 500 people who are not immune-compromised and just wish to monitor their antibody levels. Participants are required to be within 30 days of receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or plan to receive the vaccine within seven days of enrolling in the study. Vaccines can be administered at any location (Beaumont, CVS, Walgreens, Meijer, etc.).
The study entails seven or eight visits by participants to a Beaumont location in Royal Oak or Troy. Through a series of blood draws approximately every 3 months during the first year, and at 18 and 24 months in the second year, participants will have the opportunity to follow their antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination. All antibody test results will be directly shared with each study participant through their myBeaumontChart account.
“Participants will be able understand how their immune system responded to vaccination, and how long those antibodies are sustained over a 2-year follow-up period,” said Dr. Maine. “This study will help further understand the short and long-term benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, along with any potential limitations. We just need people to take that first step and volunteer.”
For more information or to volunteer, please visit the COVID-19 Vaccination Elicited Response Study All study participants will need to have a myBeaumontChart account in order to join the study and access test results. To sign up for a MyChart account, please visit https://mybeaumontchart.com/mychart/signup.
