Question

What is the role that race and gender play in COVID-19. For example, does being a person of color( Black or Brown, etc.) and male versus female or female versus male increase your risk for contracting this virus?

Answer 1

Covid-19 is affecting men and women differently isn’t just in the way that the virus is making us sick it’s also in our long term health and economic prospects. One of the most striking differences that has emerged so far is in the death rates of men and women. Twice as many men have been dying from the virus as women.   women’s immune response to the virus is stronger, the immune response throughout life to vaccines and infections is typically more aggressive and more effective in females compared to males . The fact is that women have two X chromosomes, whereas men have only one which is important when it comes a coronavirus. In particular, the protein by which viruses such as coronavirus are sensed is encoded on the X chromosome. As a result ot this , protein is expressed at twice the dose on many immune cells in females compared to males, and the immune response to coronavirus is therefore amplified in females. In UK women are about one-third more likely than men to work in a sector that has been heavily affected or entirely shut down due to the pandemic, such as the retail and hospitality industries. According to men, specially those in older age groups, the immediate risk of death from the disease is the greatest concern, but in women, who are more likely to recover from the virus, other repercussions of Covid-19 may last for years to come.