Good news for people with allergies. Will the new coronavirus avoid you?

[This issue's rumor]: Recently, there are rumors that the reason why the strange phenomenon of "everyone around me has tested positive, but I haven't" occurs is because such people are "the lucky ones chosen by science": they have allergic constitutions and suffer from atopic allergic diseases. It is also said that studies have shown that people with eczema, dermatitis, hay fever, and allergic rhinitis that trigger asthma have a significantly lower risk of contracting the new coronavirus, and are very likely to be the last people around them to test positive.

【NetEase Health Assessment】：

No conclusion yet!

【Rumor Identification Points】:

In the NetEase HealthLive live broadcast on December 21, "Worried about reinfection or secondary infection? Traditional Chinese medicine experts answer hot topics about the new coronavirus," NetEase Health interviewed President Wang Chengxiang, President of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Chairman of the Pulmonary Disease Professional Committee of the Beijing Society of Chinese Medicine, Vice Chairman of the Pulmonary Disease Branch of the Chinese Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Doctor of Medicine, and Chief Physician, on this issue.

1. Combined with the actual clinical situation, there is no special difference

President Wang Chengxiang said that from the actual clinical situation, many patients with allergic constitutions have also been infected with the new coronavirus, and there are no special differences.

Generally speaking, it is necessary to judge an individual's immunity to the new coronavirus by whether there are specific antibodies in the body and whether the vaccine has been administered.

The human body's immunity is divided into specific immunity and non-specific immunity. Non-specific immunity is something that people have from birth (such as inflammatory response), while specific immunity requires a process to acquire (such as infection with the new coronavirus). For people with allergic constitutions, the serum IgE in immunoglobulin is often higher than that of normal people, but IgE is a non-specific antibody and has no effect on specific viruses such as the new coronavirus.

Dean Wang Chengxiang said that if there are indeed a large number of similar situations, it is actually worth studying.

2. If there is no positive result, it may be a latent infection

Dean Wang Chengxiang said that every time an infectious disease breaks out, not everyone will be infected, and there will often be a group of people who will never be infected.

There are also some people who will have latent infections in small amounts multiple times and produce antibodies. That is, after the pathogen invades the human body, it only causes the body to produce a specific immune response, and causes no or only slight tissue damage. Therefore, there are no clinical symptoms, signs, or even biochemical changes, and it can only be discovered through immunological examinations.

People who are latently infected may not test positive for nucleic acid even if they undergo nucleic acid testing every day, because the viral load in their bodies is low and does not meet the positive standard.

3. The researcher’s response to the online rumor: Still needing research

According to Health Times, in October 2021, the team of Zhao Yu, chief physician of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at West China Hospital of Sichuan University and the leader of the research on online rumors, published a research paper in the top journal in the field of allergy and immunology, "The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice", which showed that people with allergic rhinitis may have a lower probability of being infected with the new coronavirus.
Regarding this study, Director Zhao Yu said that although similar research results have been presented abroad, this study is mainly based on previous virus strains. As for whether the currently popular Omicron strain also has this pattern, it remains to be studied. "But overall, I think this protective effect still exists."

Director Zhao Yu also said that it does not mean that people with allergic rhinitis are not susceptible to infection. This is just a relative probability and has no direct reference significance for individuals.

Therefore, based on the above information, if “everyone around me has tested positive, but I haven’t”, it may not be related to allergic constitution and should be analyzed specifically based on personal actual situation.

NetEase Health reminds everyone: If "everyone around you is positive", you must take good protection and avoid infection. No matter whether you have an allergic constitution or suffer from an allergic disease, you should not take it lightly!