Skip to main content
Home
Menu

Mobile navigation

  • Admissions
    • Admissions Overview
    • How To Apply
    • Admissions Requirements
    • Info Sessions
    • MCAT
    • Tuition and Fees
    • Scholarships
    • Canadian Applicants
    • HBCU & HSI Partnerships
    • Career Changers
    • Transfer Applicants
    • Med School Readiness
    • Take a Campus Tour
    • Parents Guide
    • PreMed Advisors
  • MD Program
    • MD Program Overview
    • Why Ross
    • Curriculum
    • MD/MPH
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Academic Resources
    • Residency Appointments
  • Student Life
    • Student Life Overview
    • Return to Campus
    • Housing
    • Barbados
    • Campus Services
    • White Coat Ceremony
    • Clubs and Organizations
    • Safety & Security
    • Merchandise Store
  • About
    • About Overview
    • Accreditation and Approvals
    • Faq
    • Facts and Figures
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Information By State
    • Newsroom
    • RUSM Podcast
    • Ross in the Media
    • Ross Video Library
    • Mission and History
    • Provost
  • Apply Now
    • Start Your Application
    • Continue Your Application
    • Submit your AAMCAS Application
    • Submit Your AACOMAS Application
  • Request Info

Social Media Navigation

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • SnapChat

Utility Navigation

  • Admitted Students
  • Alumni
  • Apply Now
  • Request Info
Home

Secondary Navigation

  • Alumni
  • Current Students
  • Admitted Students
Search
Cancel Search

Main navigation

  • Admissions
    • Admissions Overview
    • How To Apply
    • Admissions Requirements
    • Info Sessions
    • MCAT
    • Tuition and Fees
    • Scholarships
    • Canadian Applicants
    • HBCU & HSI Partnerships
    • Career Changers
    • Transfer Applicants
    • Med School Readiness
    • Take a Campus Tour
    • Parents Guide
    • PreMed Advisors
  • MD Program
    • MD Program Overview
    • Why Ross
    • Curriculum
    • MD/MPH
    • Faculty and Staff
    • Academic Resources
    • Residency Appointments
  • Student Life
    • Student Life Overview
    • Return to Campus
    • Housing
    • Barbados
    • Campus Services
    • White Coat Ceremony
    • Clubs and Organizations
    • Safety & Security
    • Merchandise Store
  • About
    • About Overview
    • Accreditation and Approvals
    • Faq
    • Facts and Figures
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Information By State
    • Newsroom
    • RUSM Podcast
    • Ross in the Media
    • Ross Video Library
    • Mission and History
    • Provost
  • Apply Now
    • Start Your Application
    • Continue Your Application
    • Submit your AAMCAS Application
    • Submit Your AACOMAS Application
  • Request Info

Breadcrumb

  1. About Ross University Schoool of Medicine
  2. News
  3. Dr. Hussain Malbari Takes Active Role in Combatting COVID 19: ‘You Can’t Rush a Vaccine’

Dr. Hussain Malbari Takes Active Role in Combatting COVID-19: ‘You Can’t Rush a Vaccine’

In the vortex of COVID-19 since it slammed Texas in late June, Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) alum and internal medicine hospitalist Hussain Malbari, MD, witnessed countless patients lose the battle against the relentless virus. In July, he became a sub-investigator for clinical research trials — completing the healthcare circle as a human logistics chain — following the patient from hospital entry until, hopefully soon, a cure.

Hussain Malbari

“Seeing how sick patients got and how many died even though we did everything under the sun, that’s what motivated me to help on the back end. I am ensuring the safety of the patients and the integrity of the data so we can get a vaccine to market and prevent all this loss.”

Serving as a clinical research coordinator before medical school, Malbari is now on a 35-member research team that is recruiting patients for COVID-19 clinical trials. The team is currently working with three pharmaceutical companies, each targeting a different audience:

  • High-risk patients with varying pre-existing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes as well as healthcare workers who are submerged in a COVID environment every day
  • Older patients without medical conditions
  • Adults who aren’t necessarily high risk, and may or may not have pre-existing medical conditions

 

Outsmarting the Virus

The companies provide different vaccine options — one includes a less-potent, “heat killed” version of the virus that allows the immune system to mount a response but won’t be super infectious. The other “gives your body a code that can recognize the virus; it’s introduced as a foe, allowing your immune system to recognize the shape and attack it.”

Trial volunteers are usually given two doses of the vaccine and observed for 18-24 months, a timeframe that will not lessen despite political propaganda. “There are no shortcuts in a clinical trial. Patient safety is the most important thing and the FDA will shut it down if it’s unsafe or dangerous. You can’t rush a vaccine.”

After meeting the prescreen qualifications, trial volunteers learn the benefits and risks and are told upfront that they may receive a placebo. “We’re seeing a steady recruitment of patients because they understand the importance and they want to help.” Mirroring his hospital job, Malbari follows each volunteer through the length of the trial — conducting exams and monitoring physical symptoms.

So Far, So Good

“Most people have had mild symptoms — fever, headache, body aches — nothing too severe,” said Malbari, who does not know which patients have been given the vaccine. “We’re blind investigators, which is one of the characteristics of a good clinical trial. We treat the patients without any bias one way or the other.”  

In his third year at RUSM, the tennis player found his calling in internal medicine. “I had really upstanding attendings; I wanted to emulate their bedside manner. I loved the variety and being that first line of contact with the patient.” Though the pandemic lessened the number of patients entering Malbari’s hospital for non-COVID infections, he remains committed to the job while staying cautious about bringing the virus home.

“I didn’t go near my family because I was seeing COVID-positive patients 100% of the time at certain points, but I never hesitated when treating a patient because that’s my job and what I’ve trained for. A lot of healthcare workers want to go back to life before all of this. They know a vaccine isn’t going to take off and go to market magically. So, like me, they’re doing whatever they can to be part of the solution to get us there.”

 

Appreciative and Thankful 

We appreciate your commitment to the continued well-being of our RUSM community and support during this unprecedented time. We thank and honor all healthcare workers through our Care for Caregivers website as well as the RUSM Wall of Gratitude. 

Wed, 11 Nov 2020, 12:00:00
Alumni
, Care for Caregivers
, and COVID-19

Share

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • email
Ross University School of Medicine

CAMPUS ADDRESS: TWO MILE HILL ST. MICHAEL, BB11093, BARBADOS

ADMISSIONS ADDRESS: 2300 SW 145TH AVENUE, SUITE 200, MIRAMAR, FL 33027 ADMISSIONS: 754-707-5547 EMAIL: [email protected]

Social Media Navigation

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • SnapChat

Footer Navigation

  • Events & Webinars
  • Contact Ross
  • Request Information
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

Academic Catalog | Student Handbook | Student Consumer Information | Online Cookie Policy | Accessibility Statement

© 2020 Ross University School of Medicine. All rights reserved.

Secondary Footer Navigation

  • Call
  • Chat
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • "Chat Now"