Researchers in Singapore found a group of survivors of the 2003 SARS epidemic who retained their T cells for the next 17 years, providing a glimmer of hope for lasting immunity to Covid-19.
T cells are a type of white blood cell and are the front line troops our bodies deploy to fight disease and infection. In a study by Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, blood samples were taken from 23 patients with SARS to check for the presence of remaining effective immune cells.
They discovered that some of the people infected in 2003 still had their Killer T cells and could therefore be protected from re-infection with SARS. No case of SARS, another type of coronavirus, has been recorded since 2004.
These results confirm “The idea that Covid-19 patients will develop long-term immunity to T cells”, wrote the researchers.
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Other studies cited in the research have shown that people who have had a cold in the past two years have shown “cross-reaction protection” against Covid-19 with a few remaining T cells.
Scientists at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology in California previously said it was “Trying to speculate” on such pre-existing underlying protection against Covid-19.
This marks an important development for vaccine research, as it would help determine how often we may need a booster after finding a vaccine.
The researchers went further and tested the “veterans” of the SARS era against SARS-CoV-2 and, of course, they displayed a ” robust “ reactivity in the fight against infection.
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The team then recruited 37 volunteers who had never had any of the coronaviruses to see if any previous exposure had provided underlying protection, and what they found was remarkable: despite no exposure to SARS or SARS- CoV-2, 50 percent (19) of the participants had T cells capable of at least fighting the Covid-19 virus cells.
“Surprisingly, we have also frequently detected SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells in individuals with no history of SARS, Covid-19 or contact with patients with SARS / Covid-19,” wrote the authors.
Research suggests that immunity to Covid-19 is higher than that found in antibody tests, and again opens up the possibility of underlying immunity and the potential for an effective vaccine sooner than initially thought so.
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