T Cell Immunity against Influenza: The Long Way from Animal Models Towards a Real-Life Universal Flu Vaccine

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is an excellent compilation on the strategies for developing better Flu vaccines. Very impressive is the overview on the historical development.

A list of abbreviations would be helpful.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

Point 1: A list of abbreviations would be helpful. 

Response 1: We agree and have also thought about including a list of abbreviations. However, in the "Authors instructions" section it is not recommended to one. Moreover, checking several other reviews in Viruses, none includes a list. Therefore, we keep the review without a list of abbreviatons if it is not urgently needed or specifically requested by the editor.

Reviewer 2 Report

This review by Schmidt and Lapuente updates the current knowledge and status of T cell immunity related to flu vaccines. The need to translate this knowledge to the neutralizing antibody-based flu vaccination is clear. This review thoroughly discussed the pre-clinical research and clinical trials in T cell immunity with a focus on tissue-resident memory T cells. A variety of platforms have been detailly covered, including vectors and antigens. Typical animal research and clinical trials have been presented with details; limitations of individual studies were clearly discussed. Future directions were outlined.

Overall, this is a very well-prepared review; it is easy to follow and fun to read. The review provides valuable insights not only to researchers in the field but also to those in other areas; it will be an important addition to the current literature.

My only suggestion is to cite both Tables in the text.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2 Comments

Point 1: My only suggestion is to cite both Tables in the text.

Response 1: Thanks for this comment. We included respective citations in line 174 and 486.