Does Blood Type Really Have An Impact On Coronavirus Infections? Doctors Weigh In

A new study from the New England Journal of Medicine says people with type O blood are less susceptible to severe infection from coronavirus than those with Type A.

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A doctor in Southwest Michigan says he’s actually seen people with O positive blood get severe cases of the coronavirus. He says while the study may be comforting to some, he doesn’t think blood type has any correlation.

The study from the New England Journal of Medicine measured severe coronavirus cases in both type A and type O blood in Spain and Italy.

Mark Fox, the deputy health officer for St. Joseph County, explained that type A had a 45% increased risk of a severe case of coronavirus compared to type O blood, with a 35% decreased risk of severe infection.

"There can be more antibodies with people with blood type 0 that can help fight off infections," said Fox.

But he’s not too convinced this study is entirely true.

"The bigger challenges are the underlying health conditions you have, if you have cancer, diabetes and heart disease.”

So, if underlying health conditions are still the biggest risk factor, then why is blood type thrown in there?

"When new diseases come along and they start looking at correlations with the data, blood type is really easy to measure,” said Dr. Harrison.

Dr. Mark Harrison is an infectious disease specialist for Lakeland.

He says doctors track the blood type of coronavirus patients, and in Michigan, his findings are opposite of the study.

"O positive is actually the most common blood type that’s associated with severe disease. They may just be coincidence."

Dr. Harrison says underlying conditions are a big risk for getting a severe case.

"People who are pre-diabetic seem to get it the worst, and of course that’s not to say 'you’re pre-diabetic you’re going to get it bad.'"

As well as diabetes, he’s seen people with characteristics of sleep apnea get it worse. He also says your weight is a big factor.

“I have not seen anyone who got it who was thin or underweight. There is a lean toward well nutritious or overweight to get it worse.”

Just because you don’t have any of these risk factors, Dr. Harrison says you cannot let your guard down.

"There has been sort of public denial about this. It’s not like the flu, I’ve treated influenza for 35 years and I’ve never seen influenza look like COVID."

Both health officials say you still should be washing your hands, practicing social distancing and wearing masks in public. Coronavirus is not over.

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