The research provides some of the first evidence of a relationship between genetic factors and the way that people’s immune systems respond to COVID-19 vaccines.
In the study, which was published in Nature Medicine, the researchers found that those carrying a version of an HLA gene called HLA-DQB1*06 generated a higher antibody response than those who did not.
The HLA gene helps the immune system distinguish the body’s own proteins from foreign ones, such as those made by viruses and bacteria.
