<h4>Background</h4>CD8<sup>+</sup> T-cells are crucial for controlling and resolving SARS-CoV-2 infection, yet their epitope specificity and relationship to COVID-19 disease severity remain incompletely understood.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed comprehensive longitudinal profiling of antigen-specific CD8<sup>+</sup> T-cell populations using DNA-barcoded peptide-HLA multimers, analysing 553 SARS-CoV-2 epitopes across globally prevalent HLA alleles in patients with mild and severe COVID-19. Here, CD8A is linked to COVID-19.