`People whose immune systems produce strong T-cell responses but weaker antibody responses may be more susceptible to viral infection, but are more resistant to Covid-19 and have a much lower risk of severe disease.`

He said it is plausible that AstraZeneca, the vaccine commonly used in the UK, induces a T cell response (a type of white blood cell belonging to the lymphocyte family, which plays an important role in the immune system’s response).

Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, told the Telegraph on November 23 that the decision to vaccinate older people in the UK with the AstraZeneca vaccine could be one of the reasons why the UK has not seen `as many hospitalizations as the rest.`

According to the Telegraph, AstraZeneca is preparing to release data showing that its vaccine provides long-lasting T-cell immunity to the elderly, even when antibodies decline.

France, Germany, Spain and Belgium only vaccinated people under 65 years old with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the first phase of deployment because they believed there was not enough data to prove the vaccine was effective in the elderly.

France on November 23 recorded daily infections exceeding 30,000, the highest level since August, with an increase of 63% in a week.

Empty AstraZeneca vaccine vial on the counter of a Covid-19 vaccination center on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, in August. Photo: AFP

`European leaders have had unfounded concerns about AstraZeneca and giving this vaccine to the elderly,` said a senior source in the British government.

Meanwhile, Professor Matthew Snape of the University of Oxford, who led the investigation team on the booster shot trials, said that `the best T-cell response seems to happen if you get the first shot of AstraZeneca and

Steve Baker, vice president of the Covid Recovery Group of British Conservative MPs, criticized European politicians for being skeptical of AstraZeneca in the early stages, and called for the release of data on this vaccine.

`I hope we will look at the data and find out the truth. If the government and AstraZeneca have the data, it would be helpful to make them public,` Baker said.

CEO Soriot told BBC Radio 4’s Today’s Today program that the ability of the AstraZeneca vaccine to stimulate a long-lasting T-cell response in the elderly `could be the reason` why the UK is currently avoiding a situation as severe as Europe’s.

`We haven’t seen many hospitalizations in the UK. Certainly a lot of cases but the question is are you seriously ill, do you have to be hospitalized or not? And we haven’t seen that many hospitalizations in the UK,`

Covid-19 cases in the UK are increasing again, with 42,484 cases recorded on November 23, deaths are down 5.5% and hospitalizations are down 9.5% since last week.

Prince Charles visited AstraZeneca’s research facility in Cambridge, eastern England on November 23.

Eleanor Riley, a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh, said a growing number of trials showed that the original AstraZeneca provided higher levels of T cells, while mRNA technology vaccines like Pfizer produced more resistance.

`The AstraZeneca vaccine produces better T cells so it provides longer-term protection against the risk of hospitalization and death,` she said.

Representatives of mRNA technology vaccine companies such as Pfizer and Moderna have not commented on this information.