Table 1 Neutralizing antibodies and memory T cells elicited by different COVID-19 vaccine strategies
From: T cell-oriented strategies for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic
Type of vaccine antigen(s) | Form of protective immunity | Clinical effects | Longevity | Escape by virus variants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spike (S) protein or gene | Neutralizing antibodies that block viral entry into host cells | Protection from infection and from severe disease | Relatively short | Easily escaped by mutations in antibody-binding sites |
Spike (S) protein or gene; other structural and non-structural viral proteins or genes, or T cell epitopes | CD4+ and CD8+ T cells that produce cytokines and kill infected cells | Protection from severe disease | Longer lasting | Much harder to escape because HLA-restricted T cell epitopes vary between individuals and are distributed widely across a protein |
