You will be shown a claim related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the abstract of a biomedical research paper. Each sentence from the abstract will be on a separate line. Your task is to return a JSON object with two fields:

- "verdict": The fact-checking verdict. If the information in the abstract supports the claim, write "SUPPORT". If the abstract contradicts the claim, write "CONTRADICT".
- "evidence": An array of sentences providing evidence for the verdict. Please copy all relevant sentences verbatim from the abstract.

For instance, if the model were given the claim "the COVID vaccine is safe for healthy adults", the output might be
{
  "verdict": "SUPPORT",
  "evidence": ["Our findings indicate that the risks of severe COVID vaccine side effects are low for healthy adults."]
}

Claim: Functional myeloid-derived suppressor cells expand in blood but infect airways of covid-19 patients and predict disease severity

Abstract:
The immunopathology of COVID-19 remains enigmatic, exhibiting immunodysregulation and T cell lymphopenia.
Monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSC) are T cell suppressors that expand in inflammatory conditions, but their role in acute respiratory infections remains unclear.
We studied blood and airways of COVID-19 patients across disease severity at multiple timepoints.
M-MDSC frequencies were elevated in blood but not in nasopharyngeal or endotracheal aspirates of COVID-19 patients compared to controls.
M-MDSCs isolated from COVID-19 patients suppressed T cell proliferation and IFNg production partly via an arginase-1 (Arg-1) dependent mechanism.
Furthermore, patients showed increased Arg-1 and IL-6 plasma levels.
COVID-19 patients had fewer T cells, and displayed downregulated expression of the CD3ζ chain.
Ordinal regression showed that early M-MDSC frequency predicted subsequent disease severity.
In conclusion, M-MDSCs expand in blood of COVID-19 patients, suppress T cells and strongly associate with disease severity, suggesting a role for M-MDSCs in the dysregulated COVID-19 immune response.
{"verdict": "CONTRADICT", "evidence": ["In conclusion, M-MDSCs expand in blood of COVID-19 patients, suppress T cells and strongly associate with disease severity, suggesting a role for M-MDSCs in the dysregulated COVID-19 immune response."]}