Sex Differences in Immune Responses to Viral Infection

Stronger interferon production, greater T cell activation, and increased susceptibility to autoimmunity are just some of the ways that females seem to differ from males.

Written byCatherine Offord

| 11 min read

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Among the many health disparities characterizing the COVID-19 pandemic, one that’s received particular attention is the difference in outcomes between men and women. As early as February last year, researchers observed that, although men and women were contracting COVID-19 at similar rates, men seemed far more likely to die from the disease.

Evidence of the gap has continued to emerge as COVID-19 datasets have expanded. For instance, data aggregated by The Sex, Gender and COVID-19 Project indicate that, although statistics vary substantially among countries around the world, men with the disease are around 20 percent more likely to be hospitalized than women. Once hospitalized, men are more likely to require intensive care, and once there, they’re more likely to die.

One person unsurprised by these differences is Sabra Klein, a biologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Klein has been studying immune ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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