Common Colds Train The Immune System to Recognize COVID-19

This is a fact that’s been discussed here previously. Since coronavirus cause common colds.  As does rhinovirus.Stanford

The common cold is a virally related syndrome and has been associated with over 100 different viruses, including Human Coronavirus and Rhinovirus.

 But let’s talk about the FACT that coronavirus circulates widely, regularly and is most often responsible for our seasonal cold.                           And then consider the reality that our immune system will have built natural resistance due to prior exposure- Common cold coronaviruses t cells covid 19 immunity

Previous infections with common cold viruses can train the immune system to recognize SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a new study.The study, published Aug. 4 in the journal Science, found that immune cells known as T cells that recognize common cold coronaviruses also recognize specific sites on SARS-CoV-2 — including parts of the infamous "spike" protein it uses to bind to and invade human cells.This existing immune system "memory" may explain why some people have milder COVID-19 infections compared with others; however, the authors stress that this hypothesis is "highly speculative" ( don't think it's that speculative, because it just makes sense) and requires more research to confirm. That's because it's unknown exactly how big a role T cells play in fighting COVID-19 — T cells are just one part of a complex menagerie of molecules and cells that makes up our immune system."We have now proven that, in some people, preexisting T-cell memory against common cold coronaviruses can cross-recognize SARS-CoV-2, down to the exact molecular structures," study co-lead author Daniela Weiskopf, assistant professor at La Jolla Institute for Immunology in La Jolla, California, said in a statement.Previous studies have shown that upwards of 50% of people never exposed to COVID-19 have T cells that recognize SARS-CoV-2. This ability has been seen in people around the world, in the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Singapore. Scientists hypothesized that this existing immunity could be due to previous infections with other coronaviruses, specifically those that cause common cold infections.In the new study, the researchers analyzed blood samples collected from people between 2015 and 2018, well before COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, China.These blood samples contained T cells that reacted to more than 100 specific sites on SARS-CoV-2. The researchers showed that these T cells also reacted to similar sites on four different coronaviruses that cause common cold infections."This study provides very strong direct molecular evidence that memory T cells can 'see' sequences that are very similar between common cold coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2," Sette said.In addition to binding to the spike protein, the T cells  also recognized other viral proteins beyond the spike.

Makes good sense to me! Earlier today:

• Young children less likely to spread coronavirus, McMaster University Review Shows

• Blast in Beirut- Birth Pangs