SARS-CoV2 antigen-specific T cells have been identified in the central memory (CM), effector memory (EM), and CD45RA+ effector memory (EMRA) compartments (5) but the characteristics of these cells and their role in infection or pathogenesis remain unclear. Recovered subjects more often have evidence of virus-specific CD4 T cell responses than virus-specific CD8 T cell responses, though pre-existing CD4 T cell responses to other coronaviruses also are found in a subset of subjects in the absence of SARS-CoV2 exposure (6). Inflammatory responses have been reported, including increases in IL-6- or GM-CSF-producing CD4 T cells in the blood (7) or decreases in immunoregulatory subsets such as regulatory T cells (Treg) or ɣδ T cells (8–11). T cell exhaustion (12, 13) or increased inhibitory receptor expression on peripheral T cells has also been reported (7, 14), though these inhibitory receptors are also increased following T cell activation (15). Moreover, although there is evidence of T cell activation in COVID-19 patients (16), some studies have found decreases in polyfunctionality (12, 17) or cytotoxicity (12); however, these changes have not been observed in other studies (13). Furthermore, how this activation should be viewed in the context of COVID-19 lymphopenia (18–20) remains unclear.