Antibodies have become a familiar word in the pandemic era, perhaps suggesting they¡¯re the best hope for keeping the deadly coronavirus at bay. But when crucial vaccine data was released this week, the spotlight panned to an unsung immune player: T cells.
AstraZeneca Plc, Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE, as well as China¡¯s CanSino Biologics Inc. all hailed the presence of these white blood cells in vaccine recipients as a sign their experimental shots show promise.
Thrust into focus by recent studies, T cells are a reminder that the body¡¯s defenses rely on more than one weapon, and that much of the immune response to COVID-19 is still a mystery ¡ª especially after researchers revealed that the more-lauded antibodies lack staying power.
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