Think You Never Got Covid-19? Thank Your Genes

July 19, 2023

(Wall Street Journal) – You might know a Covid-19 super-dodger who was infected with the virus but didn’t get sick. Their luck could be written in their genes. A DNA variation that affects the immune system can boost a person’s odds of avoiding Covid-19 symptoms, a study found. The work, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, helps explain why some people infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 don’t fall ill.

The T cells of some people with the variation can find and kill the virus without having seen it before, researchers said. That is because the part of the virus their T cells home in on is similar enough to common coronaviruses they have already encountered. (Read More)