Bloomberg Several studies have now shown that people with blood type O are less susceptible to contracting Covid, and those with blood type A are more likely to get it.
In the early days of the pandemic, those findings were hotly debated. But one study this summer described the mechanism by which Covid interacts with blood cells. It found that part of the spike protein — the matchstick-like structures sticking out of the surface of the virus — more effectively binds to group A cells and less so to group O cells.
“Now we have a scientific explanation,” says Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the School of Public Health of the University of Illinois at Chicago. This could help future research to develop vaccines or treatments, she says.
Even Rh factor, the + or – displayed after your blood type, matters. Some testing even found that those with Rh-negative blood appear to be at decreased risk of infection. While that’s been less conclusive, it fit perfectly with my very unscientific finding that the only people I know in the world who never had Covid have type O negative blood.