After weeks of dealing with the Coronavirus outbreak, there's one fact that everybody has come to realise as true. And that is the difference in the impact of COVID-19 infection across different kinds of people. While in the case of some (young individuals with a clean medical record), getting exposed to the virus leads to relatively mild symptoms and great odds of recovery, others aren't that lucky. A few groups, in particular, are at a higher risk for falling severely ill and the prognosis culminating in death, if they get exposed to the virus.
To ensure that you're in a position to protect yourself, as well as those around you, it's important for you to be able to identify high-risk COVID-19 patients. The following groups of people have been identified as particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, and resultant severe sickness:
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Pregnant women
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Older adults above the age of 70 years (regardless of health conditions)
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Younger adults below 70 years, with a history of some medical illness, including (but not limited to) chronic respiratory diseases such as Asthma or Bronchitis, chronic heart disease such as blockage or failure, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease such as Hepatitis, chronic neurological conditions such as Parkinson's or Cerebral Palsy, diabetes, obesity, or problems with the Spleen
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Individuals diagnosed with HIV/ AIDS
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Individuals on Immunosuppressive drugs such as those on steroid tablets, or those undergoing treatment for Lupus
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A lot of times, due to lack of information and awareness, it's possible for someone to fall under the High-Risk category for COVID-19, and not know it. Further worrying is the possibility for individuals to be infected without showing any external symptoms. Which is why, it's important for you to be able to identify vulnerable groups, maintain physical distance from them, and help them with preventive measures.