The Genetics Behind The Different Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccines

Long-haulers

Other studies have also found variation among populations for other alleles within the HLA that are associated with the severity of COVID-19. So for example,a recent studyby researchers at the Translational and Clinical Research Institute within Newcastle University found that an allele protective against severe COVID-19 symptoms in the HLA gene, at HLA-DRB1*04:01, was found at much higher frequency in people of Northwestern European ancestry.

23andMe's data on genetic associations related to different reactions to the vaccine offers other clues about the complexity of COVID-19. It is part of our on-going work to better understand the virus and the best approaches to fight it. Along with the workaround how genetic differences in immune response and blood type may play a role, our researchers are studying the long-term effects of the virus. We hope to look at so-called COVID-19 long-haulers to determine whether genetics can also explain why some individuals suffer health effects from the virus for weeks, months, and longer.

For more, you can go to our COVID-19 Information Centerhere.

*The 23andMe COVID-19 research team includes: Adam Auton, Adrian Chubb, Alison Fitch, Alison Kung, Amanda Altman, Andy Kill, Anjali Shastri, Antony Symons, Catherine Weldon, Chelsea Ye, Jason Tan, Jeff Pollard, Jey McCreight, Jess Bielenberg, John Matthews, Johnny Lee, Lindsey Tran, Maya Lowe, Michelle Agee, Monica Royce, Nate Tang, Pooja Gandhi, Raffaello d'Amore, Ruth Tennen, Scott Dvorak, Scott Hadly, Stella Aslibekyan, Sungmin Park, Taylor Morrow, Teresa Filshtein Sonmez, Trung Le, and Yiwen Zheng.