The COVID19 pandemic has been the talk of the year as it has been viciously infecting many people around the world and for some ending in fatality. It is known that underlying conditions such as respiratory issues or old age make patients more susceptible to the virus, but could a person's genetics also be a factor in how the coronavirus affects them? A recent study found that DNA alterations, variants, in a complex of genes on chromosome three affect proteins called chemokines. The chemokines work with the immune system and attract immune cells to tissues being attacked by the COVID19 virus. But with this variant and the coronavirus, the cells attack the lungs. The study found a key variant that was 1.5 times more common in patients who needed a ventilator. Blood type can also have an affect on COVID19. It was found that patients with genes for blood type A were more susceptible to respiratory failure. Patients with O type blood have lessened chances of respiratory failure with the virus.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genes-may-influence-covid-19-risk-new-studies-hint/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2020283
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