“Risk of Severe Coronavirus Linked to Neanderthal Genes”

This sounds kind of silly, but …

Africans and East Asians don’t have any to this gene to speak of. Europeans have a lot, as do the people of the Indian subcontinent.

This is not good news for me. Here’s what it says on the top of my “23 and Me” page: “Hey Greg! You have more Neanderthal DNA than 75% of other customers.”

I did not make that up. It’s an exact quote.

7 thoughts on ““Risk of Severe Coronavirus Linked to Neanderthal Genes”

  1. I thought black and brown people in this country are fairing MUCH worse. Is it not genetic after all and only systemic?!

    1. Africa is doing OK because some of the infrastructure put in place from Ebola is now helping them deal with Covid.

      1. but Ebola only affected certain parts of Africa. The low number of cases is more widespread.

        Covid-19 Death Statistics: (per million)

        Eritrea: 0
        Burundi: 0.08
        Tanzania: 0.3
        Mozambique: 2
        Uganda: 2
        Rwanda 2
        Western Sahara: 2
        DRC: 3
        Benin: 3
        Burkina Faso: 3
        Niger: 3
        South Sudan: 4
        Nigeria: 5
        Ivory Coast: 5
        Guinea: 5
        Chad: 5
        Angola: 6
        Somalia: 6
        Mali: 6
        Togo: 6

        U.K.: 621
        U.S.A. 640
        Spain: 684
        Belgium: 863

        1. Ebola itself wasn’t as widespread but the fear of contracting it certainly was. I think Africa was simply braced for another pandemic.

          I don’t want to over sell this aspect and the low numbers probably derive from additional factors. Its just one element that’s giving them an advantage over other continents.

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