Coronavirus: studies show T cells fight Omicron even when vaccine antibodies wane
- T cells, the body’s weapon against virus-infected cells, were primed enough by vaccination that they offered protection against severe disease with the new strain
- The findings could help explain why the wave of Omicron cases hasn’t so far caused a global surge in mortality
T cells, the body’s weapon against virus-infected cells, were primed enough by vaccination that they defended against Omicron in separate studies from Erasmus University in the Netherlands and the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
The findings could help explain why the wave of Omicron cases hasn’t so far caused a surge in mortality from South Africa to the US and the UK. Unlike antibodies, T cells can target the whole of the virus’s spike protein, which remains largely similar even in the highly mutated Omicron.
The Dutch researchers looked at 60 vaccinated health care workers and found that while their antibody responses to Omicron were lower or nonexistent compared with the Beta and Delta variants, T cell responses were largely unaltered, “potentially balancing the lack of neutralising antibodies in preventing or limiting severe Covid-19.”