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Date Published: 24/01/2022

ARCHIVED - Spain develops pioneering test for Covid immunity

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The test discovered by the Canary Islands team can study the real need for a booster jab

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spain develops pioneering test for Covid immunity

As countries around the globe are studying the administration of yet another coronavirus vaccine and the European Medicines Agency is arguing against the necessity of a fourth dose, scientists in Spain have developed a pioneering method of testing the real efficacy of Covid jabs. The Canary Islands team is focusing on T cells, which are the ones that activate memory B cells and generate a stable and prolonged immune response against infections.

According to the president of the Spanish Society of Immunology (SEI), Marcos López Hoyos, since the emergence of the Omicron variant, T cells have been doing their job incredibly effectively, as the explosion of infections in Spain hasn’t translated into hospital and ICU admissions. Essentially, T cells do not prevent infection, but they are proving to be “almost 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalisation.”

The scientists believe that one way to avoid unnecessary Covid boosters would be to measure the cellular immunity of individuals. With this in mind, immunologist Yvelise Barrios and allergist Víctor Matheu at the University Hospital of the Canary Islands have developed a simple skin test that detects if people have specific T cells to fight Covid.

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At the moment, the test is only being used to supplement the monitoring of the effects of the third dose on immunosupressed people, and the experts have explained that they will have to wait “a few months” before it is used on a larger scale. However, the marketing of the test is easier said than done, according to its developers, and they have encountered many difficulties already.

"It is not easy, this type of professional development must be done in collaboration with biotechnology companies specialised in the production of diagnostic tests,” they explained.

Barrios clarified that his team understands that vaccines are “a fundamental tool” to combat the pandemic, but he emphasised that “at this time, much effort must be concentrated on understanding and studying the immune response that will allow us to make rational use of this therapeutic tool.”

While acknowledging that the excising vaccinations are essential, the immunologist stressed that "repeated immunisation is not a good strategy for the population.”

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