Protective Effect of Blood Type O?
There was some chatter earlier in the pandemic that blood type might influence the risk of COVID-19 infection, but no definite conclusions ever came of it.
Now the genetics company 23andMe has studied the DNA of more than 1 million people and concluded that Blood Type O may lower the risk of developing COVID-19.
💉 Beginning in April of 2020, 23andMe started surveying its customers to ask if any had tested positive or been hospitalized for the pandemic virus.
💉 Similar to what other studies have reported, they found that men and people of Hispanic or Black descent were more likely to test positive. They also found that obesity increased the risk of hospitalization.
💉 The new information was that those with Type O blood were less likely to test positive than other blood types (which appear to have equal risk).
"Regardless of blood type, let’s all take precautions to boost our immunity and stay safe as we move into the winter months."
Researchers at 23andMe suggest several reasons why Type O blood might be protective, but all of them are still only theory. Also, it’s important to note that these study results have yet to be peer reviewed or published in a scientific journal, so time will tell if the results hold true!
Regardless of blood type, let’s all take precautions to boost our immunity and stay safe as we move into the winter months.
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Reference
Shelton JF, Shastri AJ, Ye C et al. Trans-ethnic analysis reveals genetic and non-genetic associations with COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. medRxiv. 2020.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.04.20188318v1
