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 Several recent studies have shown that certain variants of the novel
coronavirus can undermine immune protection from antibodies and
vaccines.
But antibodies - which block the coronavirus from attaching to human
cells - may not tell the whole story, according to the study by
researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID). T cells appear to play an important additionally
protective role.
"Our data, as well as the results from other groups, shows that the
T cell response to COVID-19 in individuals infected with the initial
viral variants appears to fully recognize the major new variants
identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil," said Andrew Redd of
the NIAID and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who led
the study.
The researchers analyzed blood from 30 people who had recovered from
COVID-19 before the emergence of the new more contagious variants.
From those samples, they identified a specific form of T cell that
was active against the virus, and looked to see how these T cells
fared against the concerning variants from South Africa, the UK and
Brazil.
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 They found the T-cell responses
remained largely intact and could recognize
virtually all mutations in the variants studied.
The findings add to a prior study that also
suggested T cell protection appears to remain
intact against the variants.
The NIAID researchers said larger studies are
needed to confirm the findings. Continued
monitoring for variants that escape both
antibody and T cell protection is needed, Redd
said.
The paper has been accepted for publication in
Open Forum Infectious Diseases but has yet to be
peer reviewed.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill
Berkrot)
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