Secret to COVID-19 vaccine was in our bodies all along

Coronavirus that originated from Wuhan, China, has already claimed the lives of more than 5,29,000 people worldwide and struck fear in people. But here's new hope for a vaccine.

coronavirus mutation — Representational ImagePixabay

A new study conducted by a team of researchers has found that the body of even the sickest coronavirus patient produces T-cells to fight the attack of the pathogen. The new finding is expected to be a milestone breakthrough, as it has made medical experts understand that any vaccine against this deadly pandemic will have to bring T cells along to work with antibodies in the human body.

Understanding the immune response

During the study, researchers monitored 10 coronavirus patients with very severe symptoms and health complications. All these patients were put on ventilators, and two of them eventually died during the time of the research. Scientists who examined the immune response of these patients found that all of them produced T-cells that targeted the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Interestingly, the study report also suggested that both Dutch and American patients have similar responses to the virus.

Coronavirus patient in hospital — COVID-19 vaccineCourtesy: REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

"This is key to understanding how the immune response fights the virus. You want vaccine approaches to be grounded in observations from rather diverse settings to ensure that the results are generally applicable," said Professor Alessandro Sette, a professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology who co-led the study in a recent statement.

Daniela Weiskopf, Ph.D., research assistant professor at LJI and first author of the new study revealed that the new finding is good news for those who are making vaccines using the spike protein on SARS-CoV-2. She also suggested that understanding the role of T-cells could also help to increase the COVID-19 vaccine potency.

Does coronavirus mutation hinder vaccine development?

A few weeks ago, another study conducted by researchers at the Zhejiang University in Hangzhou had suggested that coronavirus has already mutated to more than 30 different strains. The study report literally shocked medical experts, and it made them understand that they have underestimated the mutation capabilities of this pathogen. As coronavirus has mutated to several lethal strains, scientists believe that finding an overall cure for coronavirus will be difficult.