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Developing a prophylactic vaccine protecting from chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a high priority in efforts to end this worldwide pandemic.1 There is a broad consensus that a successful prophylactic vaccine should induce both humoral and T-cell responses for the highest efficacy in preventing chronic infection.2 However, detailed characteristics of T-cell and antibody responses that a vaccine must elicit for effective protection await full definition. It also remains open whether sterilising immunity against different HCV strains is a realistic goal. Protection from persistence appears more feasible, based on observations that, although spontaneous clearance of acute HCV infection is often followed by reinfections in high-risk populations, the likelihood of repeated HCV clearance is high.3