07 Mar Study Suggests Blood Type May Impact Likelihood Of Getting COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting our daily lives for more than a year now as we continue dealing with the virus. Vaccination rollouts have been gradual and recovery finally seems to be on the horizon. Recovery for the pandemic of the relatively-new virus is in part dependent on the spread and growth of the virus at a pace that experts can continue to track. A new study suggesting that people with certain blood types may be more likely to contract the virus may delay pandemic healing efforts a bit more.

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Research published on March 3 in the scientific journal Blood Advances suggests that individuals with Type A blood could be more at risk of infection than people with other blood types. They note that if you do have Type A blood, you still shouldn’t be too concerned if you’re practicing regular COVID-19 prevention methods. 

Researches essentially discovered that the new coronavirus strain is particularly attracted to the Blood Group A antigen that’s found on respiratory cells. “It is interesting that the viral RBD only really prefers the type of blood group A antigens that are on respiratory cells, which are presumably how the virus is entering most patients and infecting them,” said Sean Stowell, who is the co-author of the study. 

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“Blood type is a challenge because it is inherited and not something we can change. … But if we can better understand how the virus interacts with blood groups in people, we may be able to find new medicines or methods of prevention.”

They further suggested that this is even more reason for people with Type A Blood to get vaccinated if they’re eligible to be. 

[via]