SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in asthmatics: a complex relationship

Risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is increased in patients with certain comorbidities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). By contrast, epidemiological data from many (but not all) countries indicate a low prevalence of asthma among patients with severe COVID-19. This reduced risk of severe COVID-19 may apply specifically to patients with the type 2 asthma endotype, which is most common in childhood asthma. Somewhat surprisingly, individuals with asthma do not seem to have a greater risk of developing severe COVID-19. Here, the authors offer mechanistic insights to explain the epidemiological data. eng Fisher Scientific, Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) and Bencard Allergie. H.R. has received consultancy fees from Roche Diagnostics, Hycor Biomedical, Allergopharma, Novartis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Danone, MJN, Bencard, Nutricia and Nestlé. D.F. has received consultancy fees and funding from Novartis, Sanofi, Takeda (Shire), CSL Behring, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Pfizer. The other authors declare no competing interests.

• Skevaki, C.
• Karsonova, A.
• Karaulov, A.
• Fomina, D.
• Xie, M.
• Chinthrajah, S.
• Nadeau, K. C.
• Renz, H.