BOCA RATON, Fla. — Florida Atlantic University is looking for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to join a research study.
Multiple FAU departments have partnered with Memorial Health System to study the impacts from coronavirus.
Daniel Flynn, vice president of research, said they will focus on the people who were never in the hospital, "the 95% of patients who quarantine at home."
Participants will need a positive COVID-19 test to join the study. Flynn said they will take some blood, saliva and do a neurological test.
WPTV followed one participant through the process. Diana Guevara said she tested positive last year.
"If they can get as much information as they can, it will be better with time," Guevara said when asked why she signed up.
She said it was simple to go through the process. The neurological test was done in front of a motion-capture camera that will ask the participant to walk, balance and focus on certain questions.
Guevara said she tested positive for COVID-19 but her husband did not, and she hopes a study like this could help figure out why.
Flynn said they are looking into situations in which certain family members won't test positive for COVID-19 and if it's related to blood type.
"There is some anecdotical evidence that indicate people with Type A blood might react more severely to the disease than people with Type O blood," Flynn added.
He said they will also research how different variants of the virus have impacted people, and they can even look at the socioeconomic impact.
"We can contrast the data from this study here at FAU with our partner at Memorial Health System and have a better idea who is more likely to need hospitalization and who can be treated at home successfully," Flynn said.
A participant needs proof of a positive COVID-19 test to sign up. FAU will provide a $50 gift card for the first visit and a $25 gift card for the second.
Appointments are required in advance. To register, click here. For more information, call or text (561) 235-4467 or email crudor@health.fau.edu.
