Expanding the toolbox to combat a pandemic

Abstract

Understanding immune responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical for optimizing treatment of COVID-19. In this issue of Blood, Keller and colleagues1 generated SARS-CoV-2–specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) from the blood of individuals recovered from infection. The rapid application of this good manufacturing practice (GMP)compliant system raises the possibility that banked third-party SARS-CoV-2 CTLs could be used for treatment.