Helen Fletcher, Professor of Immunology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, hosts the second episode in the podcast series from the GTEC on T cells and vaccine efficacy. In this episode, Prof. Fletcher is joined by Paul Moss, Professor of Haematology at the University of Birmingham and a fellow member of the GTEC. Professors Fletcher and Moss discuss the immunological implications of vaccine administration scheduling. 

 Our experts provide an overview of how the immune system responds to vaccination, and discuss how booster shots contribute to lasting immunity.  Professors Fletcher and Moss review the currently available SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and their vaccination schedules, and discuss what the impact of extended dosing schedules (as seen in the UK, for example) may have on immunity and vaccine efficacy. Our two speakers also discuss the role of T cell testing in monitoring the efficacy of current and future vaccine schedules.

 This podcast was developed by the Global T cell Expert Consortium (GTEC), an initiative set up to bring together experts in T cells, vaccines, immunology and public health worldwide, with the aim of becoming the leading voice in T cell research during and beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic. The GTEC will educate on T cells and vaccine development through the release of publicly available educational content, and foster collaborative research efforts to address the unmet needs and unanswered questions in T cell research and vaccinology. This initiative is sponsored by Oxford Immunotec.

 The COVID-19 pandemic is a rapidly changing situation: the content of this podcast was correct at time of recording in February 2021.