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SARS-CoV-2 infection and mRNA vaccination both elicit spike (S)-specific T cell responses. To analyze how T cell memory from prior infection influences T cell responses to vaccination, we evaluated functional T cell responses in naive and previously infected vaccine recipients. Pre-vaccine S-specific responses are predictive of subsequent CD8 + T cell vaccine-response magnitudes. Comparing baseline with post-vaccination TCRβ repertoires, we observed large clonotypic expansions correlated with the frequency of spike-specific T cells. Epitope mapping the largest CD8 + T cell responses confirms that an HLA-A∗03:01 epitope was highly immunodominant. Peptide-MHC tetramer staining together with mass cytometry and single-cell sequencing permit detailed phenotyping and clonotypic tracking of these S-specific CD8 + T cells. Our results demonstrate that infection-induced S-specific CD8 + T cell memory plays a significant role in shaping the magnitude and clonal composition of the circulating T cell repertoire after vaccination, with mRNA vaccination promoting CD8 + memory T cells to a T EMRA -like phenotype., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests E.W.N. is a cofounder, advisor, and shareholder of ImmunoScape and is an advisor for Neogene Therapeutics and NanoString Technologies., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The coronavirus pandemic enforced social restrictions with abrupt impacts on mental health and changes to health behaviors. From a randomized clinical trial, we assessed the impact of culinary education on home cooking practices, coping strategies and resiliency during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March/April 2020). Participants ( n = 28) were aged 25-70 years with a BMI of 27.5-35 kg/m 2 . The intervention consisted of 12 weekly 30-min one-on-one telemedicine culinary coaching sessions. Coping strategies were assessed through the Brief Coping with Problems Experienced Inventory, and resiliency using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Home cooking practices were assessed through qualitative analysis. The average use of self-care as a coping strategy by the intervention group was 6.14 (1.66), compared to the control with 4.64 (1.69); p = 0.03. While more intervention participants had high ( n = 5) and medium ( n = 8) resiliency compared to controls ( n = 4, n = 6, respectively), this difference was not significant ( p = 0.33). Intervention participants reported using home cooking skills such as meal planning and time saving techniques during the pandemic. The key findings were that culinary coaching via telemedicine may be an effective intervention for teaching home cooking skills and promoting the use of self-care as a coping strategy during times of stress, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Antibody responses develop following SARS-CoV-2 infection, but little is known about their epitope specificities, clonality, binding affinities, epitopes, and neutralizing activity. We isolated B cells specific for the SARS-CoV-2 envelope glycoprotein spike (S) from a COVID-19-infected subject 21 days after the onset of clinical disease. 45 S-specific monoclonal antibodies were generated. They had undergone minimal somatic mutation with limited clonal expansion, and three bound the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Two antibodies neutralized SARS-CoV-2. The most potent antibody bound the RBD and prevented binding to the ACE2 receptor, while the other bound outside the RBD. Thus, most anti-S antibodies that were generated in this patient during the first weeks of COVID-19 infection were non-neutralizing and target epitopes outside the RBD. Antibodies that disrupt the SARS-CoV-2 S-ACE2 interaction can potently neutralize the virus without undergoing extensive maturation. Such antibodies have potential preventive and/or therapeutic potential and can serve as templates for vaccine design. • Early B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are analyzed from a COVID-19 patient • Most antibodies target non-neutralizing epitopes outside the RBD • A potent neutralizing mAb blocks the interaction of the S protein with ACE2 • Neutralizing antibodies are minimally mutated Seydoux et al. analyze B cell responses in a COVID-19 patient and find that SARS-CoV-2 infection expands diverse B cell clones against the viral spike glycoprotein (S). Two neutralizing antibodies were identified that bind S with high affinity despite being minimally mutated. Thus, vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody responses may require activation of specific naive B cells without requiring extensive somatic mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]