𝐓 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬: 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 CHICAGO (Reuters) - A critical component of the immune system known as T cells that respond to fight infection from the original version of the novel coronavirus appear to also protect against three of the most concerning new virus variants, according to a U.S. laboratory study released on Tuesday. Several recent studies have shown that certain variants of the novel coronavirus can undermine immune protection from antibodies and vaccines. But antibodies - which block the coronavirus from attaching to human cells - may not tell the whole story, according to the study by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). T cells appear to play an important additionally protective role. “Our data, as well as the results from other groups, shows that the T cell response to COVID-19 in individuals infected with the initial viral variants appears to fully recognize the major new variants identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil,” said Andrew Redd of the NIAID and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who led the study. -------------------------- Cre: The Reuters