Study finds weaker COVID-19 immune responses in men than women

Researchers behind a new study have reportedly shed some light on why COVID-19 may hit older men harder than women.

A study published in Nature this week has concluded that men produce a weaker COVID-19 immune response than women do, The New York Times reports.

The researchers reportedly looked at the immune responses of men and women who were hospitalized with COVID-19, and they discovered that the women "produced more so-called T cells, which can kill virus-infected cells and stop the infection from spreading," the Times writes. Meanwhile, men were found to have weaker T cell activation, especially the older they were.

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"If you look at the ones that really failed to make T cells, they were the ones who did worse with disease," Dr. Akiko Iwasaki told the Times. However, "women who are older — even very old, like 90 years old — these women are still making pretty good, decent immune response," Iwasaki explained.

Based on these findings, Dr. Marcus Altfeld told the Times that "you could imagine scenarios where a single shot of a vaccine might be sufficient in young individuals or maybe young women, while older men might need to have three shots of vaccine." Read more at The New York Times.