Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A study conducted by Imperial College London concluded that T cells from the common cold may provide protection against infection with the Covid-19 virus. This was obtained from the analysis of close contacts and Covid-infected patients.
In a release, Monday (10/1/2022), scientists observed the levels of cross-reactive T cells produced by the common cold in the bodies of 52 household contacts of positive cases of Covid-19. Of these, scientists found that 26 close contacts who had high levels of T cells were not infected with the virus.
“We found that pre-existing high levels of T cells, which the body makes when infected with other human coronaviruses such as the common cold, can protect against Covid-19 infection,” said study co-author Dr Rhia Kundu.
The authors say that the internal protein of the virus targeted by T-cells could offer an alternative target for vaccine makers. They call this step more effective because previously Covid-19 vaccines often only targeted the viral spike protein. This can actually provoke new variants that contain more mutations.
“In contrast, the internal proteins targeted by the protective T-cells we identified mutated much less. As a result, they were highly conserved among the various SARS-CoV-2 (another name for Covid-19) variants, including Omicron,” Professor Ajit Lalvani, co-author of the study, added.
“Therefore, a novel vaccine that includes this conserved internal protein will induce a broad protective T-cell response that should protect against current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants.”
(tps/roy)
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