In this paper, we propose a new within-host model which describes the interactions between SARS-CoV-2, host pulmonary epithelial cells and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) cells. Furthermore, the proposed model takes into account the lytic and nonlytic immune responses and also incorporates both modes of transmission that are the virus-to-cell infection through extracellular environment and the cell-to-cell transmission via virological synapses. The well-posedness of the model as well as the existence of equilibria are established rigorously. Moreover, the dynamical behaviour of the model is further examined by two threshold parameters, and the biological aspects of the analytical results are further presented.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; lytic and nonlytic immune responses; mathematical modeling; stability analysis.