"The idea is to try and find why some people who are heavily exposed to the virus do not develop Covid-19 and remain serum negative with no antibodies," she says. Now researchers say it may affect brain development in children. It wipes out a large fraction of them, says Adrian Hayday, an immunology professor at Kings College London and group leader at the Francis Crick Institute. Covid update: Nasopharynx could determine Covid severity Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' The downside of pale skin, however, is that it increases the risk of skin cancer in areas with strong prolonged sunlight. As a young man, Stephen Crohn could only watch helplessly as one by one, his friends began dying from a disease which had no name. Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library /Getty Images, Immunity To COVID-19 Could Last Longer Than You'd Think. Herd immunity and COVID-19: What you need to know They found that the melanocytes in red-haired mice secreted lower levels of a protein called proopiomelanocortin (POMC). (Read more about the Oxford University vaccine and what it's like to be part of the trial). People with red hair produce mostly pheomelanin, which is also linked to freckles and fair skin that tans poorly. 'Research suggests red hair and pale skin is an advantage in northern Europe because you make vitamin D in your skin, and therefore you are less likely to get rickets if you have pale skin. Over the past couple of months, studies of these patients have already yielded key insights into exactly why the Sars-CoV-2 virus can be so deadly. in molecular biology and an M.S. Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (red), isolated from a patient sample. These study results suggest that natural immunity may increase the protection of the shots when there is a longer time period between having COVID-19 and getting vaccinated. Redheads, it would seem, boast a secret genetic weapon which enables them to fight off certain debilitating and potentially deadly illnesses more efficiently than blondes or brunettes. 5 Takeaways From House GOP's First Hearing on COVID-19 Some sobering news when it comes to serious Covid infections. But while the world has been preoccupied with antibodies, researchers have started to realise that there might be another form of immunity one which, in some cases, has been lurking undetected in the body for years. Natural immunity is the antibody protection your body creates against a germ once youve been infected with it. "The majority of patients are following a more complex model in which many genes are co-operating between them, leading to susceptibility to severe Covid-19.