October 22, 2020

why is COVID so deadly?

A while ago we asked whether journalists would value a background briefing on the biology of COVID that would explore the possible biological factors behind risk factors such as age, obesity and ethnicity and lots of them said yes

Speakers and issues included:

• The virus itself…Why is SARS-CoV-2 so nasty and what might we do to tackle it? – Prof Paul Lehner, Professor of Immunology and Medicine, University of Cambridge
• What does it do to the lungs including clotting in the lungs – Prof Mauro Giacca, Professor of Cardiovascular Sciences, King’s College London
• The complement system clotting and COVID – Prof Paul Morgan, Director of the Systems Immunity Research Institute, Cardiff University
• Why is age the biggest risk factor for dying from COVID19? – Prof Tracy Hussell, Director of the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, University of Manchester
• Why do people who are overweight or obese do so badly? – Prof Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, Director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, University of Cambridge
• What biological factors might be implicated in the particular impact on black and minority ethnic groups – Prof Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine, University of Glasgow