People with blood type O have less of a chance of getting COVID-19, according to a number of studies published all over the world during the pandemic. But people with type A might be more vulnerable.After the pandemic broke out, one of the questions that scientists and doctors became puzzle was why some people came more susceptible to contracting and even succumbing to the disease caused by coronavirus than others?
Several studies have researched the link that genetics plays in susceptibility to contracting the virus, and some more specifically have linked the role played by blood type. The studies all came to a similar conclusion: People with blood type O have less of a chance of getting COVID-19. It should be noted that many studies conducted by reputable organizations are not fully peer-reviewed due to the urgency of the data, and there are some who warn that the data cannot be accepted as fact.
Two studies came out of Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, one that researched the link between blood type and COVID-19 susceptibility, and the other that investigated the link between blood type and the risk of contracting pneumonia caused by SARS-nCoV2 – the novel coronavirus. Another study came out of Italy and Spain, which looked into the link between genetics and SARS-CoV-2 respiratory failure.
But apparently the most popular, as well as most recent study is the ongoing research published by the personal genetics company 23andMe regarding evidence that blood type plays a role in COVID-19. 23andMe is a company that sends out personal genetics testing kits to individuals who are interested in finding out their genetic history and or their predisposition to certain genetically transmitted diseases such as certain types of cancer.
According to the company’s blog, they did a study that contained more than 750,000 participants. Their preliminary data suggests that O blood type appears to be protective against the virus, and people with that type are between 9-18% less likely than other individuals to have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Post Your Comments