According to a US laboratory study released on Tuesday, T cells, a critical component of the immune system known to fight infection from the original version of COVID-19 virus, also appear to protect against three of the most concerning new virus variants, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.
Reportedly, several recent studies have shown that certain COVID-19 virus variants can undermine immune protection from antibodies and vaccines.
This study by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) showed that T cells appear to play an important additionally protective role.
Andrew Redd of the NIAID and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who led the study, stated: "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."
These 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 added.
The paper has been accepted for publication in Open Forum Infectious Diseases but has yet to be peer reviewed, Reuters said.
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