The patients with prolonged shedding had a higher BMI and a higher proportion of patients with obesity. Levels of NK cells on admission were higher in prolonged as compared to non‐prolonged shedders. Among the factors associated with prolonged shedding in a multivariable logistic regression, BMI and NK cells were associated with higher odds ratio, while CD4+ cells were associated with a lower odds ratio of prolonged shedding. Here, CD4 is linked to Obesity.