Trial reportEBioMedicine2021
SARS-CoV-2 persistence is associated with antigen-specific CD8 T-cell responses.
Trial report in EBioMedicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 166 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long COVID and long chain fatty acids (LCFAs): Psychoneuroimmunity implication of omega-3 LCFAs in delayed consequences of COVID-19.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2022Pooled it
- Coordinated immune response distinguishes duration of SARS-CoV-2 viral particle shedding in humans.iScience · 2026Article
- Post-viral lung diseases: the microbiota as a key player.ERJ open research · 2025Review
- Impact of extended-course oral nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in established Long COVID: a case series.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Ocular neuroinflammatory response secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection-a review.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- An observational study on imported COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong during mandatory on-arrival hotel quarantine.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid detection tests: test performance during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 vaccination.EBioMedicine · 2024Article
- Epigenetic patterns, accelerated biological aging, and enhanced epigenetic drift detected 6 months following COVID-19 infection: insights from a genome-wide DNA methylation study.Clinical epigenetics · 2024Article
- Review
- Long COVID Definition, Symptoms, Risk Factors, Epidemiology and Autoimmunity: A Narrative Review.American journal of medicine open · 2024Article
- Precision nutrition to reset virus-induced human metabolic reprogramming and dysregulation (HMRD) in long-COVID.NPJ science of food · 2024Review
- SARS-CoV-2 vaccination may mitigate dysregulation of IL-1/IL-18 and gastrointestinal symptoms of the post-COVID-19 condition.NPJ vaccines · 2024Article
- Potential Beneficial Effects of Naringin and Naringenin on Long COVID-A Review of the Literature.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- COVID-19 influenced gut dysbiosis, post-acute sequelae, immune regulation, and therapeutic regimens.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Review
- Vaccine and antiviral drug promise for preventing post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, and their combination for its treatment.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Long COVID: From Molecular Mechanism to Clinical Practice.Current medical science · 2023Article
- Article
- Long-term humoral and cellular immunity after primary SARS-CoV-2 infection: a 20-month longitudinal study.BMC immunology · 2023Article
- Can Nitazoxanide and/or other anti-viral medications be a solution to long COVID? Case report with a brief literature review.Clinical case reports · 2023Article
- Tonsils are major sites of persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in children.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
17 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUpon SARS-CoV-2 infection, most individuals develop neutralizing antibodies and T-cell immunity. However, some individuals reportedly remain SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive by pharyngeal swabs weeks after recovery. Whether viral RNA in these persistent carriers is contagious and stimulates SARS-CoV-2-specific immune responses is unknown.
methodsThis cohort study was conducted between April 3
findingsWe enrolled 203 post-symptomatic participants with a previous RT-PCR-verified SARS-CoV-2 infection. At time point 1, a median of 23 days (range 15-44) after recovery, 26 individuals (12⋅8%) were PCR positive. At time point 2, 90 days (median, range 85-105) after recovery, 5 (5⋅3%) were positive. There was no difference in SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels between the PCR negative and positive group. The persistent PCR positive group however, had SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8 T-cell responses of significantly increased breadth and magnitude. Assisted contact tracing among persistent PCR positive individuals revealed zero new COVID-19 diagnoses among 757 close contacts.
interpretationPersistent pharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity in post-symptomatic individuals is associated with elevated cellular immune responses and thus, the viral RNA may represent replicating virus. However, transmission to close contacts was not observed indicating that persistent PCR positive individuals are not contagious at the post-symptomatic stage of the infection.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.