LONDON (UK) – Britain said on Thursday it would join hands with an Oxford-based company to provide testing for the T cell response of COVID vaccine candidates in a bid to monitor their immune responses.
According to health experts, T cell immunity is essential to stave off SARS-COV-2 coronavirus and could provide long-term immunity than antibodies.
The UK Vaccine Taskforce has roped in Oxford Immunotec to supply T cell testing.
“It is important to be able to assess the different vaccines head-to-head and the T cell response is part of our portfolio of accredited assays that we are employing for cross-comparisons,” Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccines Taskforce, said.
The country has inked supply deals for six different vaccine candidates, including those manufactured by AstraZeneca and Pfizer and BioNTech, which are the frontrunners in the vaccine race.