Really great news here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2550-z?flip=true
- SARS T cells still active from 2003 infections
- SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 are VERY similar in T cell response
- People who got SARS are unlikely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2
- Could mean extremely long-lasting immunity
Quote:
Next, we showed that patients who recovered from SARS possess long-lasting memory T cells that are reactive to the N protein of SARS-CoV 17 years after the outbreak of SARS in 2003; these T cells displayed robust cross-reactivity to the N protein of SARS-CoV-2.
Quote:
Thus, SARS-CoV-2 N-specific T cells are part of the T cell repertoire of individuals with a history of SARS-CoV infection and these T cells are able to robustly expand after encountering N peptides of SARS-CoV-2. These findings demonstrate that virus-specific T cells induced by infection with betacoronaviruses are long-lasting, supporting the notion that patients with COVID-19 will develop long-term T cell immunity. Our findings also raise the possibility that long-lasting T cells generated after infection with related viruses may be able to protect against, or modify the pathology caused by, infection with SARS-CoV-2.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2550-z?flip=true