New research, which found cellular and molecular events that explain why the elderly have a higher risk of infection as well as of severe side effects and death, has not only revealed the reason behind why the elderly, as well as those with certain comorbidities, are at risk of severe infection from the virus but also cracked the solution on how this mechanism can potentially be used to protect them. 

In the new study, published in the journal JCI Insight, Brown University researchers described that levels of a protein called chitinase 3-like-1 increase with age as well as comorbid diseases and infection. This helps augment SARS CoV-2 infection.