Keep in mind it is up to you that how you can respond to Covid19 if you were to contract it. Latest research has shown that your blood type could be one of these key genetic indicators. According to the reports that having type A blood puts you at a higher risk of developing severe COVID. Read on to find out what blood type could protect you from the virus.
As per research, the GenOMICC Consortium, an international association of scientists that study the connections between severe illnesses and genes. These scientists compared the genes of more than 2,000 COVID-19 patients in Great Britain with those of healthy people, The Washington Post reports.
Initial research from the GenOMICC Consortium, published in the journal Nature in October, pointed to those with type A blood being more likely to develop serious illness when infected with SARS-CoV-2, while those with type O blood were offered some form of effective protection from the disease.
“Our genetic data confirm that blood group O is associated with a risk of acquiring COVID-19 that was lower than that in non-O blood groups, whereas blood group A was associated with a higher risk than non-A blood groups,” the authors wrote.
For instance, a gene named IFNAR2, which allows cells to build a protein receptor for an immune molecule, can be a measure of how bad one’s COVID battle will be. A weak response could allow the virus to quickly infect and take over a patient’s body.
Despite the potential for major therapies to be developed as a result of the findings, the study’s authors still caution that there’s likely much more to the picture than meets the eye. “A chunk of the answer is in our genes [but] it’s unlikely that a single element is fully responsible for the development of severe COVID-19,” Sara Clohisey, PhD, study author and a researcher at the University of Edinburgh, told The Post. “It’s more likely to be a combination of factors.”
The study authors note that genes likely play in tandem with other known health complications that raise the risk of severe COVID in patients. Read on to see which conditions increase the likelihood of a serious bout with COVID, and for more on pre-existing conditions that could have the opposite effect on you, check out If You Have This Common Condition, You Might Be Safe From COVID.