Imperial’s human challenge study helps explain why some people don’t get COVID

New analysis based on Imperial’s COVID-19 human challenge study has helped to uncover how some people avoid getting sick. Researchers have found that people who are able to fend off the SARS-CoV-2 virus have unique immune responses which help them to avoid sustained infection. The findings, which are based on samples obtained from the Imperial-led COVID-19 human challenge study, suggest that a localised immune response in the lining of the nose enables individuals to identify the virus and stop it from gaining a foothold to cause infection. The research, led by the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University College London (UCL), Imperial College London, the Netherlands Cancer Institute and more, analysed samples from individuals before and immediately after exposure to the virus to study their immune responses in great detail. Using single-cell sequencing technology, they found that some people showed previously unrecognised immune responses which enable them to resist sustained viral infection and disease, and a...