HLA-B and COVID-19: The high frequency of HLA-B*38 in severe COVID-19 in our study was consistent with reports from two previous studies conducted on a limited Iranian population.24,25 Furthermore, Shekarkar Azgomi et al investigated the binding affinity of SARS-CoV-2 peptides to MHC class I HLA-A, -B, and –C molecules through an in silico method and showed a strong positive correlation of HLA-B*38 with mortality rate.26