O Covid-19 seems to prefer those who have blood group A compared to those with blood type O, according to research published in the journal “Blood Advances”.

Researches in the past showed that the people with blood group A or AB are more vulnerable to infection with Covid-19 compared to people with blood types O or B.

The team from Harvard Medical School, led by Dr dr. Sean Stowelldemonstrates that the virus that causes Covid-19 preferentially infects blood type A cells, identifying the mechanism by which this is done.

“We show that the part of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 that is the key that allows the virus to invade cells shows an affinity for blood group A cells and the virus also shows a preference for infecting blood group A cells ,” says Mr. Stowell.

Experiments have also shown that the Omicron strain of mutation of Covid-19 had a greater preference for infecting blood type A cells than the original virus.

Of course, the research team cautions that these findings do not mean that people with blood type O do not need to take precautions against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

“Some studies of several thousand people show that people with blood type A may be 20% more likely to become infected after exposure to SARS-CoV-2 compared to people who have blood type O. But people with blood type They can still contract the virus and transmit it to others,” says the lead researcher.

In addition, he adds, “Factors such as age and chronic conditions such as heart disease rank higher than blood type in determining the risk of serious infection.”