Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

What the immune response to the coronavirus says about the prospects for a vaccine

Viral immunologists say that results so far have been predictable — here’s why that’s good news.
  1. Heidi Ledford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Illustration of y-shaped antibodies responding to a spherical coronavirus particle

Immunologists are on the hunt for the antibodies (and B cells and T cells) that help to kill SARS-CoV-2 in the body. Credit: KTDesign/SPL

In the late 1980s, 15 healthy people moved into new apartments in Salisbury, UK. On their third day, each was asked to snort a nostrilful of solution containing a coronavirus — one of several viruses that causes the common cold. Then the volunteers spent three weeks quarantined at the Common Cold Unit, part of the Medical Research Council, where researchers monitored a range of symptoms. Some study participants likened stays at the Common Cold Unit to a vacation — if so, it was a holiday complete with blood draws and nasal washes.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 585, 20-21 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02400-7

Updates & Corrections

  • Update 01 September 2020: This story has been updated to reflect an extra report of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection, on 23 August.

References

  1. Callow, K. A., Parry, H. F., Sergeant, M. & Tyrrell, D. A. Epidemiol. Infect. 105, 435–446 (1990).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Kumar, R., Qureshi, H., Deshpande, S. & Bhattacharya, J. Ther. Adv. Vaccines Immunother. 6, 61–68 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Wu, F. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.30.20047365 (2020).

  4. Long, Q.-X. et al. Nature Med. 26, 1200–1204 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Seow, J. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.09.20148429 (2020).

  6. Rodda, L. B. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.11.20171843 (2020).

  7. Le Bert, N. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2550-z (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Sette, A. & Crotty, S. Nature Rev. Immunol. 20, 457–458 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Mateus, J. et al. Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd3871 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • Faculty Positions at SUSTech School of Medicine

    SUSTech School of Medicine offers equal opportunities and welcome applicants from the world with all ethnic backgrounds.

    Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

    Southern University of Science and Technology, School of Medicine

  • Postdoctoral Fellowships Worldwide

    IBSA Foundation for scientific research offers 6 fellowships offers of € 32.000 to young researchers under 40 years.

    The call is open to people from research institutes and universities from all over the world.

    IBSA Foundation for scientific research

  • Staff Scientist - Immunology

    Staff Scientist- Immunology

    Houston, Texas (US)

    Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)

  • Institute for Systems Genetics, Tenure Track Faculty Positions

    The Institute for Systems Genetics at NYU Langone Health has tenure track faculty positions (assistant professor level) at the new SynBioMed Center.

    New York City, New York (US)

    NYU Langone Health

  • Faculty Position

    The Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology (ICOB), Academia Sinica, Taiwan, is seeking candidates to fill multiple tenure-track faculty position

    Taipei (TW)

    Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links