Millions of Americans carry the sickle cell trait, many without knowing it. Could they be at risk for severe Covid-19?
Sickle cell disease, which causes Covid-like symptoms — clotting, strokes, and severe oxygen deprivation — is one of the medical conditions that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says puts people at higher risk for severe illness from the coronavirus. Now, a research team is trying to determine whether the several million people who merely carry one copy of the sickle cell mutation — but do not have the disease itself — could be more vulnerable to Covid-19, and whether that might be one reason the virus is disproportionately sickening and killing Black Americans.
About 100,000 Americans have sickle cell disease, an inherited disorder marked by sickle-shaped blood cells that can clump together, causing painful blockages of blood vessels, strokes, anemia, and early death. According to the American Society of Hematology, up to 3 million Americans may have the sickle cell trait, meaning they carry one copy of the gene — often without knowing it. (Two copies are required to have the disease.) In the U.S., both the disease and the trait largely affect African Americans.
