(ORDO NEWS) — Employees at the Massachusetts General Hospital have recorded that many people who have previously been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have been ill have a fairly stable T-cell immune response that can cope with the new Omicron strain. Due to this, the disease will not proceed in a severe form.
The study involved 76 volunteers, whose average age was 37-60 years. Among the participants were those people who simply had the coronavirus.
They had pre-blood samples taken before they received their first vaccinations. Then the tests were repeated after receiving an additional booster dose. As it was established, the T-lymphocytes present after the vaccine and infection with the coronavirus could easily recognize the S-protein, which is specific for Omicron.
It is worth noting that the virus has certain mutations, with the help of which it can quite well avoid T-cell immunity. At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that this was not found in all participants in the study.
In almost 20% of people, the T-cell immune response was quite low, even though they had been vaccinated or had previously had coronavirus.
It was possible to compensate for the lack of protection with the help of a booster dose of the vaccine. Due to this, the activity of T-cells was increased by about 20 times. Experts noted the fact that the T-cell response may become weaker due to the fact that CD8 + T-lymphocytes recognize Omicron much worse.
The reason for this may be different variations of human genes that are directly responsible for encoding proteins of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC).
Scientists believe that there is a possibility that in the future the S-protein will mutate so that the coronavirus will be able to completely avoid acquired T-cell immunity in absolutely all people.
A study has shown that today many people are immune against Omicron. If it is weak, then it is possible to solve the problem very effectively with the help of a booster vaccination.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.