What is the COVID PROFILE study?

The COVID PROFILE study aims to understand more about the factors that make a person susceptible to coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, and study how that infection builds up a person’s immunity to the virus and for how long that protection lasts.

This study will compare people who have experienced coronavirus infection to people who have not.

The study will address crucial questions such as:

• Why do some people develop life-threatening complications to SARS-CoV-2 while others remain relatively well?
• How does the environment in the nasal cavity influence the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to cause disease?
• If a person has been infected once, are they protected from becoming infected again? If so, how long does this protection last?
• Are there certain protective immune characteristics in people who have not been infected by SARS-CoV-2?

Answering these questions will help us understand the factors making a person susceptible to COVID-19 and the severity of the illness they might develop. This will help doctors ensure those most at risk can receive appropriate medical care.

This kind of information is essential to inform public health policy and vaccine strategies.

Who can take part in this study and what does it involve?

We are looking for adults in Greater Melbourne aged 18 years and older who have:

• Been diagnosed with COVID-19 and have fully recovered

OR

• Close contacts of people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, but who have not had COVID-19 themselves

The study involves collecting a sample of your blood, saliva and a swab from your nose, at regular intervals throughout the course of a year. It does not involve taking any new medications.

Responding to COVID-19

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute is leading a number of major research responses to COVID-19 in collaboration with research partners in universities, hospitals and the private sector.

Our researchers are working towards better approaches to diagnose, treat and prevent the spread of coronaviruses, both to address the current COVID-19 global outbreak, as well as in preparedness for future coronaviral disease outbreaks.

Find out more about the Institute’s COVID-19 response.

Media enquiries

M: +61 475 751 811
E: communityrelations@wehi.edu.au
E: covidprofile@wehi.edu.au