Thread by @fitterhappierAJ

So I am looking at the T cell changes in long covid in comparison to other infections

The CD8 naive T cell changes in covid are similar to what happens with naive CD8 T cells in nasty infections

Acute sars cov2 is indeed different, but Long Covid changes have me concerned

I agree, there is a persistent activation that is driving differentiaion in Long Covid nature.com/articles/s4159…

This is similar to other infections but is NOT the same for a very important reason...

The reason being there is no integration of the virus into DNA. sars cov 2 is not a retrovirus. Our therapies and vaccines should have good efficacy. There is also no direct replication in the T cells, but could be an immune reservoir. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

So I think the T cell damage seen in cov2 thus far in terms of Naive cell loss is similar to HIV in asymptomatic stages as Prof @globalhlthtwit has said but do not misconstrue his words
The virus itself is quite different and we are in uncharted territory

My recommendation is to address the reservoirs and everyone who has had covid or long covid to get vaccination. It could be persisting somewhere. frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…

I have been warning about this and find it very ironic that people have been claiming the T cells will save us when I see their apparent harm and have known they've been in peril.

Also, Ebola causes more lymphocyte apoptosis than really nasty viruses including sars cov 2, but there is a huge stigma associated to the HTLV family of viruses so we cannot easily discuss comparisons without making many people angry or go into denial.