By Marisa Herman From Newsmax

By Marisa Herman  From Newsmax

If you have type O blood, you may be protected a little bit more than others from the coronavirus, according to preliminary results from a study.

Fox News reports that early results from a study conducted by genetic testing firm 23andMe released Monday indicate that type O blood may help protect people from contracting the virus.

The study, which began in April, involved more than 750,000 participants so far. The company is still recruiting participants. 

The company used its testing services as a way to help scientists understand if genetics play a role in how people contract COVID-19. The study is using blood type to look at why some people develop severe infections while others are asymptomatic.

“Preliminary data from 23andMe’s ongoing genetic study of COVID-19 appears to lend more evidence for the importance of a person’s blood type — determined by the ABO gene — in differences in the susceptibility to the virus,” the company wrote in a blog post.

The preliminary results show that people with type O blood are between 9-18% less likely to test positive for the virus compared to all other blood types.

“These findings hold when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, ethnicity, and co-morbidities,” the company stated, adding that there “appeared to be little differences in susceptibility among the other blood types.”

23andMe is not the only company looking into how blood type may impact whether a person contracts coronavirus. A study out of China that was published in March also noted that those with type O blood may be more resistant to the virus, while those with type A blood might be more at risk for contracting it, according to Fox News.

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