In April, 23andMe launched a study of the millions of profiles in its DNA database to see if blood type had any effect on covid-19. The results are in and here’s what they found:
Of the over 750,000 participants, those with Type O blood were between 9% and 18% less likely than individuals with other blood types to have tested positive for the virus.
There was little difference in susceptibility among other blood types. After accounting for factors like age and pre-existing conditions, the findings were the same.
I’m Type O Negative so this sounds like Good News to me. But, I’m still wearing a mask and social distancing until a vaccine is available. With many states dealing with rising rates of coronavirus, danger abounds. Stay safe!
I have never known my blood type. I’m pretty good with wearing a mask and distancing. I have been around a few family members on one recent occasion without a mask and I have a friend who drove me when I had my retina injection since that was a requirement of the doctor. They have opened up restaurants and bars here and going down main street the outside seating is packed. No way are people keeping distancing. At least the library is getting close to opening. Tomorrow we can start to return books. Hopefully soon they will allow book on hold to be picked up.
Steve, you can ask what your blood type is whenever you go for blood work. Western New York enters Phase 3 on Tuesday. Some libraries are already open–the Central Library in Buffalo is–but more will open this week and next. Like you, I have several books on RESERVE that I would love to pick up and read.
I’m O, but not sure if negative or positive. John and the girls are all AB variants. John and Julia donate blood regularly and they are always getting calls from the blood bank about donating because their blood type is rare. Regardless, we’re all still practicing social distancing and wearing masks in public. I got my hair cut on Friday and everyone in the salon was wearing a mask and work stations were set up in different places to keep the six-foot distance requirement between clients. They also had hand-made, washable masks for sale for $3 a piece, so I bought a few. Unfortunately, based on what I’ve been seeing, the response from many people in public is, “Coronavirus? What coronavirus?”
Deb, like you I’m distressed by the scenes I see on TV with people on crowded beaches, people not wearing masks, people in bars and restaurants not practicing social distancing. We all know where this leads.
I’m O-positive, as in “O, I’m positive I’m going to keep social distancing.” I’m also positive they’ll find a vaccine for Covid-19 loong before they find one for stupidity. Too many people out there are ignoring the guidelines.
Jerry, one of my sisters lives in Tucson, Arizona and says between the wildfires and the exploding number of coronavirus cases it looks like the Apocalypse.
Ten or twenty % is of course not really significant for a person.
It’s similar all over the world – some people just don’t realise what’s going on.
reminds me of the dozens (hundreds?) of times people told me that a flu vaccination was nonsense.
I told them:
Our state insurance pays for it – would they do it if they didn’t see any adantage?
As a member of a risk group like many others here of course I follow the rules re masks and social distancing. So among other things my wife makes a list and I go shopping alone usually. The first weeks my wife even kept from physically touching her granddaughter – which was of course very hard for both of them.
PS:
I also forgot my blood group – will have to ask the family doc on my next routine visit, these are every three months when I also get new prescriptions.
Wolf, the coronavirus has changed some people’s behavior: no more handshakes, no more hugs, no more up-close-and-personal contact.
The only Dr my health care plan will pay for is an Alchemist and he says my Blood Type is Capricorn.
Dan, Capricorn is a sign that represents time and responsibility, and its representatives are traditional and often very serious by nature. You fit the bill!
I’m O+, wearing a mask, keeping my distance, and generally behaving myself. Really, just not going out much. No real idea when my library is reopening, which is one thing that would get me out there. The clowns running the library are apparently all former CIA agents, and they won’t come right out and tell you anything. So you just have to read the tea leaves and take note of the slightest change on the website. I’m beginning to think there might be some sort of monetary prize in the offing to be awarded to the last library system to open.
Michael, I’m curious about what the new rules for using the Libraries will look like. Sure, masks will be required and social distancing will need to be practiced. But, will they limit the number of people in the Library? Will they change their hours? What happens to the annual Library Book Sale. Inquiring Minds want to know!
My library is starting phase 2 tomorrow. This allows you to drop off books in the lobby. When phase 3 opens we will be allowed to pick up holds but no browsing. I did get to go and browse my local B&N last week. They were making masks mandatory and limited patrons to 25 at a time. Plus they removed any place to sit down. I was disappointed that no magazines have been put out since early march.
Steve, I hate to think about how the coronavirus will affect book and magazine publishers. Even “Big Box” bookstores will be in trouble with limitations on the number of patrons in the store.
I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know my blood type! I know my mother was concerned about an Rh thing when I was born as she had a miscarriage the year before I was born (it seems to run in the family, as both of my sisters had miscarriages too) and there was a question about positive/negative whatever. See how well I was listening? Anyway, it turned out fine (*twitch*) but I never remember my blood type. Anyway, we’ve been staying home other than weekly shopping trips to the grocery (once to Costco) and to pick up food. We always wear masks and gloves. I’m getting retested tomorrow because the hospital insists, so keep your fingers crossed. I have had no contact with anyone and Jackie tested negative, so there is no way I could have caught it. Plus, no symptoms.
Jeff, you and Jackie are handling the coronavirus correctly. But too many people are ignoring precautions and pretending we’re back to Normal.
Yes, I find it infuriating and inexplicable how otherwise smart people can walk around unmasked, seemingly without a care in the world. They need to watch Andrew Cuomo’s daily updates. “Yes, I miss my mother. Yes, I want to see her. But I want her to live.” Crowds of young people like the group partying in the East Village on Friday night (or those morons at Lake of the Ozarks) make you despair for humanity.
We may be finished with coronavirus, but coronavirus isn’t finished with us!
Deb, I was watching NBC this morning and a doctor who survived the coronavirus said that if we keep adding cases, we’ll never get rid of the coronavirus until we get a vaccine. New Zealand was able to get rid of the coronavirus through strict social distancing and mask-wearing and contract tracing after testing. The U.S. is falling down in all those areas…so we’re going to be stuck with covid-19 for the foreseeable future.
Jeff, people can be foolish. But this is one time when caution is warranted. The coronavirus can be cruel killer.
It’s not only the USA, Europe is also threatened by people’s stupidity. But there are always people who just don’t care – maybe a few more will have to get the Darwin Award like that priest.
And don’t even think about Africa and some parts of Asia where they just don’t have the financial resources necessary.
If we don’t have a vaccine “soon” – let’s say next spring then tourism also might come to a standstill or people will just die off in droves.
Wolf, people are dying in droves in the U.S. already. Some estimates say we’ll have 200,000 deaths by September. Yikes!
I hate to be the voice of gloom & doom, but I believe we’ll be lucky to make it to the end of August without hitting 250,000 deaths (and I pray that none of us here or our loved ones are part of that statistic). We’re officially at 114,000, but I think we can confidently add at least 20,000 to that number (you know—all those unexplained flu and pneumonia deaths). The government (federal and red-state level) can fudge all they want but when that many people die, the “blip” in the usual data shows up somewhere. And numbers are rising in many places. Florida has been breaking its daily fatality record every day this week, but the doofus Governor there says it’s all ok because it’s “only” nursing homes and farm workers who are being affected. He isn’t even trying anymore…just wants to get that to the date for the RNC convention in Jacksonville. “Never mind the covid corpses, folks. It’s just old people!”
/You can probably hear my teeth gnashing from wherever you are.
Deb, I’m with you on the increases of covid-19 in many states that are re-Opening too quickly. Our Governor is threatening to shut down bars and restaurants who aren’t following guidelines (social distancing and masks). Florida and Arizona looked like they’re heading into a pandemic inferno!
I know mine is A- because we did have that issue in pregnancy and I had to have a shot after the birth of Josh so antibodies would not produce a blue baby-what Jeff said.
Supposedly from what I read A is the worst type to have for contracting the virus.
I am surprised at how many people don’t know their blood type. I would think it would have come up with giving blood, or needing blood, or having children or in an accident. But maybe not. My blood type has been a big player in my life. It opened the door to finding out my father wasn’t my biological father. It meant I was at risk of having a baby with breathing issues and now Covid-19.
A- is fairly rare, Phil’s was AB+ which is also rare but the rarest is AB-. If you have that type, you should donate blood. For a long time I couldn’t donate blood because I was in the UK for a year when mad cow was going on. I wonder if I can donate now. Or maybe I am too old.
Patti, I donated blood until I was diagnosed with diabetes. At that point, my internist advised to stop. I know diabetes slows my recovery from cuts and scrapes.
Re: The RH factor. After my sister was born my mother had three miscarriages due to the HR factor before she had me. I was touch and go for a while, highly jaundiced, and survived because of blood transfusion; apparently I was one of the first in our area to survive this. My younger brother was in the same situation but worse; he was eventually sent home from the hospital to die. The stubborn sumbitch didn’t die, but thrived, and is continuing to thrive today — something that makes me very happy, Kitty’s blood has certain antibodies that are helpful for burn and cancer victims. She used to get emergency calls from Boston Children’s Hospital to donate. Both of us can no longer donate blood because of underlying health issues, something that upsets us both.
Jerry, I’m proud of you and your wife for donating much needed blood when you could. You helped many people.
I guess it wasn’t until the sixties that they came up with the shot. Very grateful.
Patti, and it wasn’t until the 1980s that scientists figured out HIV was causing AIDS. Famous Science Fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, contracted HIV in 1983 from a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery. That eventually led to blood being screened to prevent HIV spread from transfusions.
YOU POST A PICTURE OF A HUGE NEEDLE GOING INTO AN ARM? ARE YOU NUTS? NO, NO, NO! The blood type thing is slim-flam, George.
Rick, I just look away when they’re taking my blood. I’ve never had problems with needles.
Needles don’t bother me. I just had one into my eye a week or so ago. I didn’t feel a thing although it did have a squeamish factor. The only shots that ever gave me trouble were ones given by my dentist in my top front to numb me.
Steve, I have some friends who fear needles. One is a diabetic who refuses to take insulin shots. He takes Metformin but his A1C is high.
The only time I had a problem with needles was when the SOB doctor was taking out my tonsils when I was 17 or 18. He insisted to my parents that I had to have a local, so I had to open wide when he shot me with a needle that was so long (a foot at least) and big that it had three finger holes like a bowling ball! I swear I am not making this up. I didn’t feel it when he cut, but I still heard him say, “Don’t move or you’ll bleed to death.”
Bastard. I hope the sadist died the painful death he deserved.
Jeff, what a terrible experience! The only incident I’ve had that comes close is when I was having surgery to repair my torn meniscus. I was on the operating table and one of the surgical nurses was attaching a breathing mask when he said, “We plan to do kinky things to you while you’re under Anesthesia.” At that moment, I faded out. Later, I woke up in Recovery wondering what they did to me.
I’ll take any statistical edge I can get. Also O+. But more pleased with current data showing less than 1.5% positives for COVID19 in the Eastern portion of Alameda county (Tri-Valley) where I live. Numbers are much higher in Western portion (Oakland-Berkeley-Fremont), among the worst in the state.
Art, congratulations on the Type 0 Positive! Western New York has a 1% positive rate for covid-19. New York State is doing 50,000 tests.