Some people have a 22% lower risk of having a severe case of COVID-19 thanks t their Neanderthal DNA. Hugo Zeberg from Karolinska Institute in Sweden has done done extensive research into these ancient genes. Neanderthal DNA makes up 1% to 2% of the genomes of many people of European and Asian descent.
The advantage comes from a single haplotype a long block of DNA on chromosome 12. The same haplotype has been shown to protect people against West Nile, hepatitis C, and SAR.
Zeberg along with Svante Pääbo at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology relied on the genomes of three Neanderthals, two whose remains were found in southern Siberia and one from Croatia. The DNA dates back 50,000 to 120,000 years. They compared those Neanderthal genomes to the DNA of thousands of people with severe COVID-19. Zeberg’s research suggests that around 25% to 30% of people in Europe and Asia carry the protective haplotype.
However, a prior study from Zeberg and Pääbo, published in September 2020, showed that not all Neanderthal DNA confers an advantage. In that research, they found that some modern humans have inherited a haplotype on chromosome 3 that puts them at higher risk of respiratory failure due to COVID-19. That particular gene cluster was found in the Neanderthal from Croatia. About 16% of people in Europe carry the dangerous one.
If you aren’t sure of your Neanderthal DNA sequence, be sure to wear a mask, social distance and wash your hand often. Thankfully many of us in this century have running water.