How the common cold protects against coronavirus : scientific explanation found in Britain

British scientists said that cellular immunity after SARS protects against COVID-19

British scientists say that people who have recently had a cold are less at risk of contracting the coronavirus. According to the study, T cells that arise after illness attack the detected proteins inside the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, and not its spike protein on the surface. Vaccines don't do that.

A preprint of a new study by scientists at King's College London shows the important role of T cells in the fight against coronavirus infection.

Scientists say that people with high levels of T cells, which play a leading role in the white blood cell immune response, are less likely to contract COVID-19.

“ Our study clearly shows that T cells produced by the coronaviruses that cause the common cold play a protective role against infection from the COVID-19 coronavirus infection. To protect themselves, these T cells attack the proteins inside Sars-CoV-2, and not the spike protein on the surface ”

Vaccines currently in use against these internal proteins of the coronavirus do not form an immune response. For new vaccines, in fact, there is a new target on the coronavirus, which can be a long-term solution in the fight against the pandemic. The immune response from T cells lasts longer than from antibodies developed after vaccination.

The scientists also report that their study is very limited due to the small number of participants in the experiment. In addition, 88% of the participants were white Europeans, so there is not enough data to model demographic factors.

Main weakness

In July, scientists from the German Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt discovered critical vulnerabilities of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, according to Angewandte Chemie. They turned out to be 15 short and incapable of mutation segments of the genome of the new coronavirus.

“ Despite a large number of SARS-CoV-2 mutations, the conserved RNA segments we identified are the most promising for the development of effective targeted inhibitors ” 

Through these inhibitors, it is possible to slow down or even completely stop the replication and spread of coronavirus infection.

wedge wedge

At the end of September 2021, Professor Pyotr Chumakov, head of the Cell Proliferation Laboratory at the V. A. Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that with a cold or SARS, you cannot simultaneously become infected with a coronavirus.

“ A person, of course, will not become infected with a coronavirus during a cold or SARS. But shortly after recovery, he can contract COVID-19. And since it will be weakened by the first disease, the coronavirus may be even more difficult, ” the scientists said.

“ There is protection because interferon is released, an antiviral protein that protects the body from secondary infection,” Chumakov said.