July 18, 2024

expert reaction to study looking at cross reactive T cell responses in adenovirus-based COVID 19 vaccines

A study published in NPJ Vaccines looks at T cell responses in adenovirus-based COVID vaccines. 

Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group; and Ashall Professor of Infection and Immunity, Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, said:

“T cells are a type of white blood cell that is good at fighting viral infections.  The authors document T cell responses in people vaccinated with adenovirus vector vaccines, the delivery system used in both the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID19 vaccines.  Humans experience multiple adenovirus infections from early childhood and throughout adult life, developing T cell responses to parts of the proteins that are shared between adenoviruses.  Adenoviruses are a family of viruses which share a lot of similar genes and therefore it is no surprise to find that these responses are present before vaccination and boosted by adenovirus vaccines, as that is basic immune biology.  The findings are entirely expected but the significance of them for protection against COVID19, or adenoviruses, is unknown.”

‘Identification of cross reactive T cell responses in adenovirus based COVID 19 vaccines’ by Joshua Gardner et al. was published in NPJ Vaccines.

DOI:10.1038/s41541-024-00895-z

Declared interests

Prof Sir Andrew Pollard: “Led the clinical development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.”