COVID-19: Clinical and Public Health Implications of SARS-CoV-2 Immunology

In the fall of 2020, Annals of Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians (ACP) hosted a virtual forum to address clinicians' questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. That program, held on 16 October 2020, featured Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. H. Clifford Lane, Dr. David Kessler, Dr. Beth Bell, and Dr. Rachel Levine discussing evidence-based information related to the science, approval processes, development of clinical recommendations, and public health implications of COVID-19 vaccines that were under development at the time.

To address new questions that are emerging about immunity, the duration of protection that follows acute infection and vaccination, and the need for booster doses of vaccine, the most recent forum, held on 8 October 2021, focused on the immunology of SARS-CoV-2 and clinical and public health implications of the virus's immune behavior. What immune mechanisms does the virus trigger? Are there reliable markers of previous infection, adequate response to vaccination, and protection from future infection? What do we know about the risks and benefits of booster doses of vaccine? Dr. John R. Mascola and Dr. Camille Nelson Kotton joined us to address these and other questions submitted by registrants of the live program. Readers can view the program in the Video that accompanies this article.