By a year into the pandemic, most of us know that certain conditions or personal habits can affect our chances of catching coronavirus or severe COVID. But there is also increasing research that certain genetic traits that are not always visible to the naked eye can also cause a higher risk of the disease. Now, a new study by scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Emory University School of Medicine has found more evidence that blood type may play a factor in the likelihood that you will get COVID. Read on to see how what’s in your veins can increase your risk, and for more information on what can increase your chances of getting sick, see If you did this recently, you’re 70 percent more likely to To become COVID.
It is more likely that the coronavirus attaches to a specific type of type A blood cell.
The team of scientists from Harvard and Emory conducted a laboratory study to better understand how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with A, B and O blood groups. The researchers focused on the part of the virus known as the receptor binding domain (RBD), which uses the pathogen to attach to cells as soon as they enter the body.
The results, published in the journal Blood progression, showed that the virus was more likely to attach to type A cells, specifically the type of blood cells found in the respiratory system. The virus showed no preference for cells from other blood groups or respiratory cells from the B or O blood group, as Live Science reports.
The authors of the study believe that their results may help explain why some people are more susceptible to COVID. “Interestingly, viral RBD prefers only the type of blood group A antigens found on respiratory cells, which is thought to be how the virus invades and infects most patients,” Sean Stowell, MD, one of the authors of the study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in a statement.
Unfortunately, this could be a COVID risk factor that cannot be controlled.
The authors of the study pointed out that, unlike other potential high-risk conditions, nothing can be done to reduce the risk posed by our genetic makeup. “Blood type is a challenge because it is inherited and not something we can change,” Stowell said. “But if we can better understand how the virus interacts with blood types in humans, we may be able to find new medicines or prevention methods,” he added.
The authors of the study said that the findings also raised even more questions that needed to be further investigated. “Does it really affect the ability of the virus to end up in cells? Does it just affect the ability to adhere to the cells? It’s open,” Stowell said. “We are working on it now, but the jury is not available yet.” And for more information on how you can improve your chances, visit these 3 vitamins that can save you from severe COVID.
Previous research has shown that people with type A blood are also more susceptible to severe COVID cases.
Recent research is by no means the only study considering different blood types and how they pose different COVID risks. Other studies have recently found that blood type can affect COVID susceptibility. In December, researchers from the GenOMICC Consortium, an international association of scientists studying the link between serious diseases and genes, compared the genes of more than 2,000 COVID-19 patients in the UK with those of healthy people. The Washington Post reports.
Initial research from the same team, published in the journal Nature in October, found that those with type A blood were more likely to develop serious diseases when infected with the new coronavirus. “Blood group A has a higher risk than non-A blood groups,” the authors wrote. And subscribe to our daily newsletter for more COVID news delivered directly to your inbox.
Type O blood has been linked to a reduced COVID risk.
Conversely, a study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine in November found that your risk of catching COVID-19 decreases if you have type O blood. The researchers behind the study in the St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, examined the COVID-19 test results of 225,556 Canadians between January 15 and June 30. They looked at how likely the patient would also contract the virus. how likely they were to become seriously ill or die as a result. They found that people with type O blood were 12 percent less likely to develop COVID-19 and that their risk for severe COVID-19 or death was 13 percent lower compared to those with A, AB, or B blood groups.
The four main blood groups – A, AB, B and O – can also be Rh-positive or Rh-negative. When the researchers looked at this second classification, they found that those with Rh-negative blood are also ‘somewhat protected’ from the virus. “A Rh status appears to be protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the study’s authors write. In addition, ‘Rh− had a lower point [adjusted relative risk] of severe COVID-19 disease or death. “
And if you are O-negative, which is very rare, you can be protected even further from COVID. “Rh blood type was protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially for those who were O-negative,” the authors wrote. According to Reuters, co-author, Joel Ray, MD, of the St. Michael Hospital, suggested that people with these more resistant blood types may have developed antibodies that can recognize certain aspects of COVID-19 and are therefore better prepared to combat it. And for more information on how you can potentially protect yourself, you can save this common drug from severe COVID, new study says.