Immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination will be studied by UBD and the Ministry of Health

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

As daily new coronavirus cases fall to a two-week low, the vaccination rate continues to decline.

 

In a statement released on Wednesday, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) stated it would conduct a study on people's antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccines.

The university is working with the Ministry of Health and EVYD Technology, a BruHealth app developer, to compare users' antibody responses to three vaccination types: AstraZeneca (viral vector), Moderna (mRNA), and Sinopharm (viral vector) (inactivated).

 

According to UBD, the study will benefit policymakers in determining future public health and disease management initiatives.

Associate
Professor Dr Anne Cunningham, one of the study's immunologists, said the team plans to collect 3,000 blood samples from fully vaccinated people, 1,000 for each vaccine type.

Blood collection will begin in October, according to Dr. Cunningham, who is also the vice dean of UBD's PAPRSB Institute of Health Sciences.

 

She also mentioned UBD's collaboration with Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, which created a virus neutralisation test (cPass) to detect and evaluate neutralising antibodies, which are the specific antibodies responsible for eradicating patients' viral infections.

The test, which can quantify neutralising antibodies in an hour, is supposed to aid in the investigation of herd immunity and the prediction of COVID-19 protective immune responses.

To make it easier to recruit volunteers for the trial, UBD has been designated as a satellite COVID-19 vaccination centre.

 

Vaccination rate continues downward slide

 

The COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Brunei slowed on Tuesday, with 6,720 doses administered compared to 8,015 the day before.

 

YB Dato Dr Hj Mohd Isham Hj Jaafar, the Health Minister, announced during his daily press conference that over 2,000 immunisation spots were available for Thursday.

 

Before considering easing COVID-19 limitations, the government wants at least 80% of the population immunised by the end of 2021.

 

Currently, 69.5 percent of Bruneians have gotten at least one dose of vaccination.
Approximately 45 percent of the population has received all of their vaccinations.

More than 5,000 seniors over the age of 60, according to the ministry, have yet to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations.

At least one vaccination dose has been given to 88.7% of the older population.

Data showed that positive COVID-19 cases aged 60 and up were five times more likely to develop serious sickness and require artificial breathing at the National Isolation Centre, according to YB Dato Dr Hj Mohd Isham.

Those above the age of 60 can get immunised at any vaccination site.

 

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