COVID-19 less likely to affect people with Blood Type O, find two new studies

A new study has revealed that the people with blood type O may be less vulnerable to COVID-19, this means that they are less likely to get sick and severely ill from the virus. The new study that was published in 'Blood Advances' also shows that a person’s blood group may play a role in the likelihood of someone getting seriously ill due to COVID-19 and that further study is required into the connection.

Link between COVID and specific blood types

Dutch researcher discovered that out of almost 8,000 people that tested positive for COVID-19, 38.4 per cent were of the blood group O while 44.4 per cent were of the blood group A. In another study performed by Canadian researchers, people with blood group A or B that tested positive for COVID had a higher chance of requiring mechanical ventilation compared to those who teste positive but had the blood group O.

The Canadian study also revealed that on average those with blood types A or B had a longer stay in the hospital-13.5 days, which is longer than the average duration of stay for someone who had the blood group O which was nine days. These new studies provide solid evidence that there is a link between the severity of COVID-19 and a person’s blood type.

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A separate study that was published back in June in 'The New England Journal of Medicine' claimed that people with blood type A were at a higher risk of becoming infected by the COVID-19 virus than those with blood type O. The previous study published in June, as well as the new studies published in 'Blood Advances', prove that there are a concrete link and unique interaction of COVID-19 with a person’s blood group and that it affects them differently.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 38 million people worldwide with the global death toll crossing 1,000,000. The US has reported more than 7.5 million COVID-19 cases and a death toll of over 200,000.

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