Dr Gabriel UguruAre you genetically immune to infection with COVID-19? If so, the world needs you!
The devastating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has been quite astonishing both in human lives lost and the damaging knock-on effect on the world economy. The US, India, Brazil, Russia and the UK account for half of the current 5 million deaths recorded worldwide from COVID-19. But advances in science and technology and better mitigation strategies have seen improvements from the deplorable and helpless position the world were in during the early months of 2020.
Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (and now pills), have all helped to return life to near normality – a far cry from the early days of the pandemic when dubious remedies including injecting one’s self with bleach and the use of chloroquine tablets, were bandied about.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelBut the world is not out of the woods yet. In fact, the virus is remerging in many parts of the world, especially in the US, Germany, UK, Austria, Denmark, etc. Scientists are currently searching for individuals with super immunity. These individuals blessed with super immunity, about an infinitesimal proportion of the world population, neither are infected with the virus nor do they spread it, and scientists believe that drugs against the virus could be modelled on the basis of this super immunity to COVID-19.
One such designer therapeutic agent is Sotrovimab. It is an engineered human monoclonal antibody clinically proven to be effective in neutralising SARS-CoV-2 and other SARS-associated Coronavirus. And has recently been reported to be effective against all variants of the Coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
“Super” antibodies are neutralising antibodies isolated or modelled on antibodies obtained from rare persons whose immune systems neutralise COVID-19 variants. Coronavirus has spike-like proteins on the outside with which it uses to attach itself to human cells. These super antibodies target the spike proteins and in the process prevent the virus from attaching and gaining entrance into the human cells.
Only one person so far has been reported with super antibodies. Such lucky fellow with super antibodies (widely reported earlier in the year but repeated here for emphasis), is John Hollis, who did not even know he had COVID-19! John Hollis is a 54-year old African-American working as a communications manager at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. He did not know he had had COVID-19 until he participated as a volunteer in a Coronavirus study programme conducted by his university. Mr Hollies and his blood are now worth their weights in gold. His antibodies are so super efficient in killing the virus, even when his blood is diluted 10,000 times!
Yet, we have another group of people who are genetically immune to infection with the virus. If the genes, which confer protection to COVID-19 could be isolated and studied, drugs that target and kill the virus could be developed.
A team of scientists are trying to narrow the search down to people who had no protection and were exposed to sick person/s with COVID-19 over a long period of time, yet did not test positive or have any record of immune response to the virus. If you are such a person or have shared a home or bed with person/s infected with COVID-19, you are an invaluable asset to humanity and scientists would want to talk to you. A person who shared a bed or home with an infected partner and retains the attributes described above, both persons are called discordant couple.
The team of scientists from across the globe are scouring the world looking for people with such attributes as aforementioned. Five hundred people from all over the world have already been recruited and another 600 more have put themselves forward for assessment.
In a paper published in Nature Immunology, the scientists outlined their plans. The genomes of selected volunteers who meet the requirements will be aligned against other COVID-19 infected people. The essence is to identify the genes linked to COVID-19 resistance. Once the genes have been positively identified, the next step would be a thorough study of the mechanism of action and identification of factors enabling resistance to the disease.
In related studies, blood type A appears to increase the risk of infection with COVID-19, while blood type O and Rh- (negative) blood groups, respectively, might offer protection to the disease. In fact, a single nucleotide (structural unit of DNA) deletion in the ABO gene gives rise to the group O allele (type O blood group), which is “weakly” linked to a protective effect against COVID-19.
But please, the aforementioned findings are still not definitive. Repeat, there is no currently established study linking blood type to severity of COVID-19 or its protection against the disease. So, don’t go taking risks thinking that you are immune to the disease simply because of your blood group.
There are so many twists and turns with the COVID-19 issue. This is because scientists are still learning so many things about the virus and are still trying to get a handle on things – in other words, the world is flying by the seat of its pants. Until a clearer picture emerges, you would do well to protect yourself! Wear masks (which have been confirmed to protect against infection from COVID-19 by 53%), observe social distancing, and wash your hands regularly. Above all, get vaccinated to protect yourself and others around you! Vaccination does not prevent you from infection or dying from COVID-19 but it does give you a fairer fighting chance.
In another development, If you have previously had a coronavirus infection, you might not need a second jab of any two-dose vaccine regimen. A single jab is all that you need for your immune system to be equal if not greater than people who received a second dose of the vaccines.
A study at the Rockefeller University, New York, seems to suggest that individuals that had had COVID-19 infection and were later vaccinated do mount a powerful immune response against all variants of the Coronavirus. Previously, studies have shown that prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2 elicits exceptionally good protection against the virus when a single dose of the vaccine is given and gained little or no added benefit from the second jab. So, a previous encounter with coronavirus might be a blessing in disguise.
Talking about previous encounters, if you had had a “high” previous encounter with malaria, there is good news for you. You might be protected from a more severe form of COVID-19 that leads to hospitalisation or death. An article explaining the phenomenon is coming your way soon. So, watch this space. Until then, stay safe.
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