Novel vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 specifically for patients with cancer and immunodeficiency undergoing trials

Under the leadership of Dr. Juliane Walz, part of the research area "Immunotherapies" in the iFIT Cluster of Excellence, the clinical testing of an in-house developed vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, which is specifically designed for patient groups with antibody deficiency, is starting these days. The vaccine targets highly specifically the stimulation of a cellular immune response by the so-called T-cells against SARS-CoV-2. In contrast to other vaccines, CoVac-1 activates T cells not only against the spike protein of SARSCoV- 2, but also against numerous other viral components, which counteracts the development of resistance by mutants. T cells play an important role in our immune system. They can directly destroy virus-infected cells and secondly enable the formation of efficient virus-neutralizing antibodies by B cells.