KARACHI:
It is time to get vaccinated. The coronavirus vaccine contains parts of the virus against which our immune system responds. The immune B-cells produce antibodies while immune T-cells attack the virus. To know how protected you are, you can get your antibody level checked. Current research challenges this simplistic approach. It is now becoming increasingly clear that T-cells play a much greater role. This means that even when your antibodies are low T-cells are able to protect you, especially against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Now, reports are emerging that shift the paradigm. Many studies have supported a synergistic B- and T-cell response against the virus. For example, researchers from the Netherlands and the US have recently concluded that when you get vaccinated for one variety, you are protected against multiple variants as well. They found that even when the vaccine produced antibodies, those antibodies could not neutralise the SARS-CoV-2 variants in many cases. It was the T-cells in the blood that protected people against the mutated virus.
This shows that commonly available vaccines can protect you from future infections. It is high time that labs in Pakistan start testing for T-cell responses in the blood as well. It will help determine a person’s immune status and a vaccine’s efficacy.
