Long COVID research in Australia possible breakthrough for new vaccines, treatments

SYDNEY, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — A type of white blood cell that fights off viral infections could help produce new vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, according to a long-term study in Australia published on Tuesday.
In the study, a team from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne investigated how memory T cells are established and develop as part of the immune system’s defense against long COVID.
The study found that memory T cells that recognize SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — can fight subsequent infections for up to two years.
T cells are a type of white blood cell that fight viral infections by killing off infected cells. They are a key part of the body’s immune response because they can remember an encounter with a virus and become long-term memory T cells for protection against subsequent infections.
Researchers from the institute, a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, found that T cells in 31 participants with long COVID from Australia and China’s Hong Kong maintained their protection for two years following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Peter Doherty, an author of the study and founder of the institute, said the research could lead to breakthroughs in treatments.
“Applying the lessons learned and technologies developed to study the cellular immune response in human influenza has allowed us to move fast on analyzing this aspect of our immune response in COVID-19,” he said in a media release. “That opens an important portal for understanding where we need to go with future therapies and vaccines.”
Research published by the Australian National University (ANU) in August found that long COVID cost the Australian economy 9.6 billion Australian dollars (6.4 billion U.S. dollars) in lost productivity in 2022.
It estimated that in September 2022, there were 1.3 million Australians living with long COVID.
The federal government in June allocated 14.5 million Australian dollars (9.7 million U.S. dollars) in funding for long COVID research, including national trials to rapidly assess and fast-track therapies. ■