The cellular immune response to B.1.1.7 variant COVID-19 deciphered by single cell multi-omics

Regardless of rapid vaccination programs, the coronavirus SARS-CoV2 is likely to remain a concern for the foreseeable future, because viral pathogens evolve, and acquire mutations that may alter severity of the disease or render current vaccines ineffective. During the 1st wave of coronavirus, we have analysed over 800,000 blood and immune cells from more than 100 patients treated in Cambridge, Newcastle and London.

This work provides the largest reference dataset available anywhere to interrogate how blood and immune cells are affected by the infection, and may contribute to fighting it.

Given the recent emergence of a more aggressive strain (the so-called UK or Kent variant), there is an urgent need to investigate whether this new variant causes the same changes in blood and immune cells as the original strain. Such information is vital to know whether current therapies need to be amended, and whether there are opportunities to develop new treatments.

We propose to answer these important questions by studying 30 patients of the current wave, where the majority are infected with the new variant. Because of time sensitivity, our results will be made available to the wider scientific community as soon as is practicable.