A new study out of the United Kingdom has discovered that cellular or T-cell immunity against the novel coronavirus is present within most adults six months after the initial infection.

The research, available as a pre-print on bioRxiv, “demonstrates robust T-cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 virus peptides at this timepoint in all participants following asymptomatic or mild/moderate COVID-19 infection.”  

T-cells, which are part of our immune system, pinpoint and attack cells that have been infected with a virus or other kind of pathogen. They are also known to help other antibody-producing cells in the immune system.  

“Understanding what constitutes effective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is extremely important, both to allow us to understand how susceptible individuals are to reinfection and to help us develop more effective COVID-19 vaccines,” Professor Paul Moss, the U.K. Coronavirus Immunology Consortium lead from University of Birmingham, said in a release.  

This particular study examined a hundred individuals who had tested positive for the coronavirus in March and April but had not been hospitalized. All of the study’s participants had only experienced either mild or moderate symptoms or were asymptomatic.  

Then serum samples were collected on a monthly basis to gauge antibody levels, and blood samples were taken after six months to analyze the cellular response to the virus. 

“Cellular immunity is a complex but potentially very significant piece of the COVID-19 puzzle, and it’s important that more research be done in this area,” the study’s author Dr. Shamez Ladhani, consultant epidemiologist at Public Health England, said in a statement.  

“However, early results show that T-cell responses may outlast the initial antibody response, which could have a significant impact on COVID vaccine development and immunity research.”  

Antibodies are also a crucial component of a body’s immune defense. In another recent study that was published in the journal Science, researchers found that the vast majority of individuals who have been infected with the coronavirus will have immunity for at least five months.  

The research findings by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai added that 90 percent of people who recover from the virus are able to develop a stable overall antibody response.  

“While some reports have come out saying antibodies to this virus go away quickly, we have found just the opposite—that more than 90 percent of people who were mildly or moderately ill produce an antibody response strong enough to neutralize the virus, and the response is maintained for many months,” the study’s co-author Florian Krammer, a professor of vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said in a release.  

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.  

Image: Reuters