Science News Roundup: Lung damage found in COVID dead; NYC first responders have high COVID-19 rate and more

NYC first responders have high COVID-19 rates T-cell study adds to debate over duration of COVID-19 immunity A small but key UK study has found that "cellular immunity" to the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus is present after six months in people who had mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 - suggesting they might have some level of protection for at least that time.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Lung damage found in COVID dead may shed light on 'long COVID': study

A study of the lungs of people who have died from COVID-19 has found persistent and extensive lung damage in most cases and may help doctors understand what is behind a syndrome known as 'long COVID', in which patients suffer ongoing symptoms for months. Scientists leading the research said they also found some unique characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which may explain why it is able to inflict such harm.

NYC first responders have high COVID-19 rates; public surfaces may hold clues to virus spread

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

NYC first responders have high COVID-19 rates T-cell study adds to debate over duration of COVID-19 immunity

A small but key UK study has found that "cellular immunity" to the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 virus is present after six months in people who had mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 - suggesting they might have some level of protection for at least that time. Scientists presenting the findings, from 100 non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Britain, said they were "reassuring" but did not mean people cannot in rare cases be infected twice with the disease.

(With inputs from agencies.)