A profound and significant increase in the frequency of the annexin V and 7-AAD double-positive NKT-like cells was observed in CI (median: 3.3%) compared to UI (median: 1.2%) (Fig. 2A), suggesting that increased proportions of NKT-like cells of CI are undergoing apoptosis and/or necroptosis even after recovery from COVID-19. This evidence concerns the gene ANXA5 and COVID-19.