Application to volunteer in COVID-19 vaccine study still open - MOH

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry (MOH) is looking for more volunteers to take part in phase 3 of COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.

The MOH in a Twitter post said among the prescribed conditions are applicants must be over 18 years old and healthy.

Those interested to volunteer or seeking further information can contact the Clinical Research Centre (CRC) in nine hospitals via WhatsApp, namely the Ampang Hospital, Selangor (016-7286617, also Telegram); Sarawak General Hospital (012-3108108); Penang Hospital (014-9453599) and Seberang Jaya Hospital, Penang (014-9065518).

Also, Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Kedah (019-5544976); Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, Perak (011-63311654); Taiping Hospital, Perak (019-8546373); Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor (011-10045343) and Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital, Kedah (017-7931938, 017-7931987, 011-57669114).

The average response received by Bernama when contacting these numbers is to fill up a form directly on the WhatsApp application or another platform while providing a link for further details, before they take further action and contact the applicants.

However, the CRC in Ampang Hospital already have enough volunteers but they still provided a registration link for those interested to take part in the future vaccine trial.

Malaysia’s COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial began on Jan 27 in nine hospitals, involving some 3,000 volunteers.

The phase 3 clinical trial of the vaccine sponsored by China's Institute of Medical Biology Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMBCAMS) is being carried out with the objective of assessing its safety and effectiveness against COVID-19 infection.

The nine hospitals participating in the trial are coordinated by the Health Ministry's Institute of Clinical Research (ICR).

-- BERNAMA