Vaccine Responses in Older Adults Boosted by Drug That Helps Immune Cells Self-Clean December 16, 2020 One needs to look no further than the COVID-19 pandemic to highlight the point that older adults are in the high-risk category for infectious diseases. With vaccines starting to be rolled out in the United States, so too is hope for the protection of this vulnerable group. While most vaccines are less efficacious in older adults, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that underpin this. A new study shows that autophagy, a process critical for the maintenance of immune memory in mice, is specifically induced in vaccine-induced antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in healthy human volunteers. In addition, a drug that boosts the removal of cellular debris in immune cells, spermidine, may increase the protective effects of vaccines in older adults. The results may lead to new approaches to protect older individuals from viruses such as the one causing the current COVID-19 pandemic and influenza.