Genome and epigenome editing identify CCR9 and SLC6A20 as target genes at the 3p21.31 locus associated with severe COVID-19

Dear Editor,The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)is a major global health threat.Mortality is predominantly caused by severe respiratory failure related to interstitial pneumonia in both lungs and acute respiratory distress syndrome.Recently,genome-wide association studies(GWASs)have identified chromosome 3p21.31(sentinel variant:rsl 1385942)to be associated with both severe and general affected COVID-19 cases.