Blood types and Covid-19

  Does having Type O blood mean you will not get COVID-19? The short answer is absolutely NO. If you do not have a genetic predisposition to colon cancer or breast cancer does that mean you will not get these diseases? Absolutely not and in fact the vast majority of patients with both diseases do not have a known genetic predisposition. Having certain genes makes you much more likely to get certain diseases or illnesses but the lack of this genetic propensity does not mean you are out of the woods. I personally have no known risk factors for COVID-19 but I am still extremely careful and practice WMD (wash, mask, distance). A graph below shows the slightly lower risks of acquiring COVID if you have type O blood.  

 

It’s not yet clear why some people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, get really sick, while others have only mild symptoms. There’s some evidence that chronic health conditions—such as hypertension, obesity, age, cardiovascular disease or pulmonary disease history, immunosuppression, and diabetes can play a role, and scientists know that people’s genes can influence how their bodies react to other viruses. Two areas  that encodes blood type and a multi-gene cluster on chromosome 3—that were linked to respiratory failure during SARS-CoV-2 infection. The blood type was a marker for these gene clusters. The study of these gene types and blood types is very preliminary and with such a small group of patients needs to be repeated in larger studies. Remember how hydroxychloroquine was touted by some as a wonder drug.