Can B cell-deficient patients rely on COVID-19 vaccine-induced T-cell immunity?

Anti-CD20 antibody treatments prevent humoral responses to vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines, but the nature of T-cell responses in this setting is less well understood. Riise et al. assess vaccine-induced epitope-specific CD8 T cell responses in patients with lymphoma recently treated with rituximab and find a wide range of responses, with the most recently treated patients frequently failing to respond, while others exhibit responses stronger than healthy controls. They suggest these epitopes among others could be used in a T cell-targeted vaccine, and such strategies are indeed in clinical trials now. Commentary on: Riise J, et al. Rituximab-treated patients with lymphoma develop strong CD8 T-cell responses following COVID-19 vaccination. Br J Haematol. 2022;197:697-708.