The SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Interferes With Pain Perception, but Does It Help Transmission?

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can relieve pain, according to a new study by University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers. The finding may explain why nearly half of all people who get COVID-19 experience few or no symptoms, even though they are able to spread the disease, according to the study's corresponding author Rajesh Khanna, a professor in the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson's Department of Pharmacology.