Higher CD8 T cells may influence COVID-19 recovery in blood cancer patients
Antibodies aren t the only immune cells needed to fight off COVID-19 -; T cells are equally important and can step up to do the job when antibodies are depleted, suggests a new Penn Medicine study of blood cancer patients with COVID-19 published in
Nature Medicine. The researchers found that blood cancer patients with COVID-19 who had higher CD8 T cells, many of whom had depleted antibodies from cancer treatments, were more than three times likelier to survive than patients with lower levels of CD8 T cells.
It s clear T cells are critical in terms of the early infection and to help control the virus, but we also showed that they can compensate for B cell and antibody responses, which blood cancer patients are likely missing because of the drugs. This is important when we think about how to improve the care of cancer patients with COVID. We need to maximize all the arms of the immune system, especially if
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Prepared injections of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Office of Gov. Tom Wolf)
This is one of a series of articles in which reporters from WHYY’s Health Desk Help Desk answer questions about vaccines and COVID-19 submitted by you, our audience.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts, scientists, and the rest of us have wanted to know whether contracting the coronavirus once protects people from getting infected by it again.
A year in, scientists are closer to a more definitive answer. As vaccines roll out, emerging data could also provide answers about whether vaccines are necessary for people who have recovered from COVID-19.
Fact-checking Sen. Ron Johnson’s anti-vaccine misinformation
Under the guise of “just asking the questions,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin spread anti-vaccine misinformation on a right-wing radio show Thursday, questioning why efforts were being made to vaccinate the general US population, especially young people and those who had previously been infected with Covid-19.
Johnson, who tested positive for coronavirus last fall, said he was “sticking up for people who choose not to get vaccinated.” As of March, Johnson told CNN he had not yet been vaccinated because he previously had Covid-19.
In Thursday’s interview with conservative radio host Vicki McKenna, Johnson suggested there have been thousands of deaths connected to Covid-19 vaccinations and that receiving a vaccine could be particularly dangerous for those who had previously been infected.
By CNN
May 7, 2021 8:28 PM
Under the guise of âjust asking the questions,â Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin spread anti-vaccine misinformation on a right-wing radio show Thursday, questioning why efforts were being made to vaccinate the general US population, especially young people and those who had previously been infected with Covid-19.
Johnson, who tested positive for coronavirus last fall, said he was âsticking up for people who choose not to get vaccinated.â As of March, Johnson told CNN he had not yet been vaccinated because he previously had Covid-19.
In Thursdayâs interview with conservative radio host Vicki McKenna, Johnson suggested there have been thousands of deaths connected to Covid-19 vaccinations and that receiving a vaccine could be particularly dangerous for those who had previously been infected.