They discovered it after more than a year and a half of research: A gene that doubles the risk of severe covid! – NEW TIME

“After more than a year and a half, the gene responsible for predisposing to a serious course of covid has been discovered.” Polish Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Thursday.

According to scientists from the Medical University in Białystok, the gene discovered by them after age, overweight and sex is the fourth most important factor determining the severity of the disease.

Research leader Marcin Moniuszko says the gene is present in about 14 percent of the Polish population, compared with eight to nine percent in Europe as a whole and 27 percent in India.

According to Reuters, as a reluctant attitude to covid vaccination is a major factor in higher mortality in Central and Eastern Europe, researchers hope that identifying people at highest risk for severe symptoms will encourage them to be vaccinated. At the same time, they will have access to more intensive treatment methods, Reuters reports. The research in Poland took place on a sample of 1,500 people infected with covid, the PAP agency writes.

Reuters further notes that other studies have examined the importance of genetic factors in covid severity in the past. In November, British researchers announced that they had discovered a version of the gene that could be associated with a double risk of covide-induced lung failure.