Dendritic cell-based vaccine: the state-of-the-art vaccine platform for COVID-19 management

Introduction: A correlation between new coronaviruses and host immunity, as well as the role of defective immune function in host response, would be extremely helpful in understanding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pathogenicity, and a coherent structure of treatments and vaccines. As existing vaccines may be inadequate for new viral variants emerging in various regions of the world, it is a vital requirement for fresh and effective therapeutic alternatives.

Area covered: Immunotherapy may give a viable protective option for COVID-19, a disease that is currently a big burden on global health and economic systems. Herein, we have outlined three dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccines for COVID-19 which are in human clinical trials and have shown encouraging outcomes.

Expert opinion: With existing knowledge of the virus, and the nature of DC, DC-based vaccines may be proven to be effective in inducing long-lasting protective immunity, especially T cell responses.