How strong are children's immune systems? | DW Documentary

You might remember that during the pandemic, children were less likely than adults to get seriously ill from the Covid-19 virus. But why? ???? Donna Farber, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Columbia University in New York, might have an answer!

Our immune system relies on a special kind of white blood cell called T cells, to recognize when our bodies cells are infected and to help coordinate the fight against viruses, like Covid-19.

T cells are key for a healthy immune system because they can "remember" past infections, allowing them to respond more quickly the next time the virus shows up, like specialists trained for a particular job.

Children also have T cells, but Donna Farber found that children have many more so-called "naïve" T cells, T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen, which are very effective at fighting new viruses. This gave them an advantage when they encountered Covid-19.

Watch the full documentary “Our immune system - Miracle weapon against cancer?” on the DW Documentary YouTube channel.

#documentary #dwdocumentary #dwdocs #health #cells #science
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