Leveraging on past investment in understanding the immunology of COVID-19 – the South African experience

The COVID-19 pandemic, and in particular the emergence of viral variants, resulted in an enormous global public health crisis. South African scientists, with a long history of studying viral evolution and antibody responses, were well positioned to pivot their research to focus on SARS-CoV-2. Using the expertise and infrastructure developed over decades for HIV vaccine research, South Africa took a leadership role in studying the antibody response elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. We describe key scientific outcomes of those studies, and the drivers of a successful national response.