Study reveals T cells could provide more protection against Omicron in future vaccines

Researchers from Imperial College London (ICL) have revealed that T cells could provide more protection in COVID-19 vaccines against Omicron, a SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, than antibodies do.

The new review, published in Cell Host and Microbe, offers new insights into the development of COVID-19 vaccines and how T cells could play a crucial role in protecting people from these emerging variants.

Since being first identified in 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has evolved with several variants and subvariants, such as Omicron, Pirola and Juno, leading to new waves of infection.

Although neutralizing antibodies were considered to be the primary defense mechanism against COVID-19 during the pandemic, the virus has since evolved to become better at evading them.

The new research reveals that memory T cells, which play a key role in the body’s adaptive immune response to recurring viral infections, are more effective at recognizing and combating the virus’ in comparison to antibodies.

This is especially true for people living with hybrid immunity obtained through vaccination and natural infection.

While further research is needed to understand the role of T cells in immunity to the virus’ different strains, researchers suggest that boosting T cell responses could provide stronger and longer-lasting protection against different strains of the virus.

20th February 2024