(WEB MD) – A study of adults who’d tested positive for the coronavirus found they had cellular, or “T-cell,” immunity against the virus 6 months after becoming infected – a discovery that may guide vaccine development.
The researchers studied 100 health care workers who tested positive for COVID-19 in March or April, according to a news release from the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium. None of the health care workers needed to be hospitalized.
On a monthly basis, the researchers collected serum samples from the participants to measure antibodies. After 6 months, they collected blood samples to measure the levels of T-cells – a kind of white blood cell that’s part of the immune system. They help antibodies fight many kinds of infection, not just the coronavirus.
