Some people with “lucky genes” or certain DNA may get extra strong protection after Covid jabs, say scientists from University of Oxford.
The researchers found people with a version of a gene called HLA-DQB1*06 had a bigger antibody response following vaccination than others.
About 30 to 40% of the UK population have this type.
The preliminary work appears in Nature Medicine. More research is needed to confirm it.
Researchers analysed blood samples from people who took part in five different trials, including 1,600 adults who had either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as their first jab.
They found people who carried the gene variant were more likely to have higher levels of antibodies – proteins that recognise and attack coronavirus – a month after their first jab than people who had other versions of the gene.
The study also followed a group of people who had weekly Covid tests for more than a year after their first jab.
They found those who had the gene variant were less likely to experience a “breakthrough infection” over this time period, where people still got a mild Covid infection after vaccination.
