Gene that protects against Covid19 severe infection found

The researchers from Sweden claimed to have discovered a gene that reduces the severity of Covid infections by 20%, the Daily Mail reported. The researchers said that their discovery will help in creating vaccines that are effective against the coronavirus.

The scientists claim that the presence of this particular gene varies according to ethnicity. In people with white European ancestry, the gene is present in one in three people. In people with African heritage, it is present in eight out of 10 individuals, said the study.

The gene tells the body to make a protein that is effective at breaking down SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid. It is found in one in three people of white European ancestry, according to researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. In those of African heritage, it was present in eight out of ten individuals, found the study in Nature Genetics.

According to the researchers, the protective gene variant (rs10774671-G) determines the length of the protein encoded by the gene OAS1. Prior studies have shown that the longer variant of the protein is more effective at breaking down SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid19.

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