Evaluating Functional T-Cell Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination After Cellular Therapy
Einarsdottir S, Fei T, Singh KH, et al. Antigen-Specific T Cell Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination After Hematopoietic Cell Transplant or CAR T Cell Therapy. Blood Advances. 2026; (doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2026019614).
The best timeline for SARS-CoV-2 immunization after undergoing cellular therapy is not known, but recent findings indicate that mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination within 4 months does not appear to impair functional T-cell responses. Researchers assessed functional T-cell responses in 68 clinically and immunophenotypically comparable patients: 28 who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT), 22 who underwent autologous HCT, and 18 who underwent chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. After early receipt of mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Th1-skewed functional antigen-specific responses, driven primarily by CD4+ central memory and cytotoxic CD8+ T-cell subsets, were observed across all three patient cohorts. Functional T cell responses occurred even without detectable antibody responses or with low B cell counts, the researchers note.