The relatively low mortality/resistance to sars-cov-2 in East Asian countries has been something of a mystery.. Many champion masks, however a recently published paper posted by @BallouxFrancois piqued my interest which suggests genomic.. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
Evolution due to ancient CoVs. We have noticed the host enzymes ACE2 and TMPRSS2 are instrumental in Sars-Cov-2 cell entry. Quindainone is a known inhibitor of TMPRSS2 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32408547/ This is found naturally in Isatis Indigotica - an Asian Brassicaceae
Interestingly, this plant has been used for millennia to make the bright blue dyes we associate with China. Often used in clothing - ladies used to frequently paint their eyebrows with it. Could a close and prolonged relationship with this local herb have contributed to some..
Evolutionary, genomic viral resistance? It has also been used as a natural medicine across East Asia since time immemorial - often in combination with other plants and/or herbs. Could there be some phytogenetic/epigenetic mechanism at play? chineseherbsinfo.com/quing-dai/ Just thinking..