More Than 20 Percent Of People At Risk For Severe COVID Due To Underlying Medical Conditions
About 1.7 billion people fall into that vulnerable category. While the numbers can be startling, it also allows doctors to pinpoint those patients who are at the highest risk for having a negative, or even fatal, outcome once infected. In other scientific news: mutations, demographics and longevity.
The New York Times:
Coronavirus Study: 1 In 5 People Worldwide At Risk
In just six months, nearly 8 million people worldwide have been stricken with confirmed cases of Covid-19, and at least 434,000 have died. But those deaths have not been distributed evenly; among the most vulnerable are people with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes and diseases that affect the heart and lungs. According to a new modeling study, roughly 1.7 billion people around the world — 22 percent of the global population — fall into that category. That estimate, published today in The Lancet Global Health, excluded healthy older individuals without underlying health conditions, a group also known to be at risk because of their age. It also did not take into account risk factors like poverty and obesity, which can influence a person’s susceptibility to disease and access to treatment. (Wu, 6/15)
The Associated Press:
Coronavirus Death Rate Is Higher For Those With Chronic Ills
Death rates are 12 times higher for coronavirus patients with chronic illnesses than for others who become infected, a new U.S. government report says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Monday highlights the dangers posed by heart disease, diabetes and lung ailments. These are the top three health problems found in COVID-19 patients, the report suggests. (Tanner, 6/15)
The Washington Post:
Patients With Underlying Conditions Were 12 Times As Likely To Die Of Covid-19 As Otherwise Healthy People, CDC Finds
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on more than 1.7 million coronavirus cases and 103,700 deaths from covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, reported to the agency from state and territorial health departments from Jan. 22 through May 30. The data is consistent with earlier reports showing the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on people with underlying medical conditions. The report also highlighted the disease’s stark disparities between whites and minority groups. Among nearly 600,000 people who were sickened and for whom the CDC has race and ethnicity information, 33 percent of patients were Hispanic, although they make up 18 percent of the U.S. population; 22 percent were black, while they constitute 13 percent of the population; and 1.3 percent were Native American or Alaskan Natives, nearly double their representation in the overall population. (Sun, 6/15)
The Hill:
COVID-19 Patients With Underlying Health Conditions Are 12 Times More Likely To Die: CDC
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be severe, particularly in certain population groups,” the CDC said. While average daily reported cases and deaths are declining, the report said, there are still signs of ongoing community transmission across the country.(Hellmann, 6/15)
CBS News:
Doctors "Don't Understand" Why Some Coronavirus "Long-Haulers" Have Symptoms For Months
Doctors "don't understand" why some formerly healthy people can have coronavirus symptoms that linger for many weeks or even months, emergency care physician Dr. Ron Elfenbein tells CBS News. While most people with mild cases of COVID-19 recover in about two weeks, according to the World Health Organization, some who refer to themselves as "long-haulers" suffer debilitating symptoms for much longer, even after initially improving. (Brown, 6/15)
CIDRAP:
COVID-19 Cruise Ship Studies Reflect Unique Disease Traits
Two studies published late last week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases characterize COVID-19 passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, one finding that some infected patients have a lung infection with viral shedding but no symptoms, and the other suggesting that advanced age, severe lung involvement, and reduced lymphocyte count are risk factors for disease progression. Cruise ships are a unique, confined environment that simulate the living conditions and social interactions of a city, offering researchers the chance to define viral shedding patterns and patient antibody responses before and after symptom onset in a mostly older population with different ethnicities and immunization and health statuses, the authors of the first study noted. (Van Beusekom, 6/15)
Reuters:
Virus More Efficient At Infection After Mutation; Diseased Lungs More Receptive To Virus
A genetic mutation in the new coronavirus that significantly increases its ability to infect cells may explain why outbreaks in Northern Italy and New York were larger than ones seen earlier in the pandemic. Scientists at Scripps Research in Florida say the mutated virus was seen infrequently in March, but by April accounted for some 65% of cases submitted from around the world to the GenBank database run by the National Institutes of Health. The mutation, designated D614G, increased the number of "spikes" the virus uses to bind to and break into cells, and made them more stable, researchers found in the study undergoing peer review. (Lapid, 6/15)
NBC News:
Science, Politics And Trolls: How Carl Bergstrom Became A Voice Of Clarity On The Coronavirus
More than a decade before the coronavirus became a global scourge, Carl Bergstrom was working on a plan for what to do if just such a pandemic ever broke out. Bergstrom, a professor of biology at the University of Washington, conducted research on pandemic planning, crafting strategies to contain the spread of infectious diseases. He said the work naturally intertwined with policy discussions. Former Vice President Dick Cheney took an interest in the research, he said, particularly in debates about the role of the government in public health crises. (Chow, 6/15)
CNN:
CDC Report Offers A Detailed Demographic Breakdown Of Who Is Getting Sick With Coronavirus
New numbers released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer a comprehensive picture of who in the United States has been diagnosed with Covid-19 and how they fared. The latest figures confirm that older people, minorities and those with preexisting health conditions are at the highest risk of death. (Kane and LeBlanc, 6/15)