T Cells Come to the Rescue as Studies Show They Buck Omicron
- Unlike antibodies, the cells hold up against variant in tests
- Findings may explain disconnect between case load and severity
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An unsung arm of the immune system appears to protect against severe disease with the omicron variant even when antibodies wane, helping to explain why a record wave of infections hasn’t engulfed hospitals so far.
T cells, the body’s weapon against virus-infected cells, were primed enough by vaccination that they defended against omicron in separate studies from Erasmus University in the Netherlands and the University of Cape Town in South Africa.