The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created challenges by threatening public health and triggering the largest global economic crisis in recent history. While environmental factors and social activities influence the clinical outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure and COVID-19 severity, the host genetic background and variants are increasingly recognized as vital players in individual susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, ranging from asymptomatic infection to lethal COVID-19. A plethora of genome-wide association meta-analyses have been provided and will continue to provide genetic determinants of the heterogeneity of COVID-19 outcomes. Such discoveries undoubtedly deepen our understanding of the biological underpinnings of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease, paving the way for the development of more efficient SARS-CoV-2 prevention strategies and drug repurposing. Here, we provide a brief overview of studies regarding host susceptibility to COVID-19 and its clinical outcomes, focusing on the identification of genome-wide significant loci from different ancestral populations.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; genetic risk; populations; severity; susceptibility.
© 2025 Sun et al.