SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in the changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic

Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, multiple severe acute respiratory syn-drome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants with increasing ability to evade neutralizing antibodies have emerged. Thus, earlier interest in defining the correlates of protection from infection, mainly mediated by hu-moral immunity, has shifted to correlates of protection from disease, which require a more comprehensive analysis of both humoral and cellular immunity. In this review, we summarized the evidence that supports the role of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells induced by infection, by vaccination or by their combination (defined as hybrid immunity) in disease protection. We then analyzed the different epidemiological and virological var-iables that can modify the magnitude, function, and anatomical localization of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells and their influence in the possible ability of T cells to protect the host from severe COVID-19 development.

Automated summary

This review summarizes the evidence supporting the role of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in disease protection and analyzes the different factors that may influence the magnitude, function, and anatomical localization of these T cells, as well as their impact on protecting the host from severe COVID-19 development.