mRNA-LNP vaccine-induced CD8+ T-cells protect mice from lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the absence of specific antibodies.
Sigal, Pardi, and colleagues show that in mice, CD8+ T-cells do not participate in the pathology of primary SARS-CoV-2 infection and that mRNA-LNP vaccine-induced CD8+ T-cells are dispensable when protective antibodies are present but essential for survival in their absence.