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CDC Redefines Covid-19 Risk Groups…

On Thursday, June 25, the nation’s top public health agency revamped its list of which Americans are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness, adding pregnant women and removing age alone as factors.  The CDC also changed the list of underlying conditions that make someone more susceptible to suffering and death.

There are now two risk groups:
1. People who ARE at increased risk
2. People who MIGHT BE at increased risk

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said the update was prompted by medical studies published since CDC first started listing high-risk groups. They sought to publicize the information before the 4th of July weekend, when many people may be tempted to go out and socialize.

Previously, the CDC said those at high risk of serious illness included people aged 65 years and older and those who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility — groups that were prominent in early reporting. Now, however, susceptability to infection spans all age ranges, as businesses and events reopen and people stop wearing masks.

1. People of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19:

• Chronic kidney disease
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
• Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 or higher)
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Sickle cell disease
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

2. People with the following conditions might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19:

• Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
• Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
• Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
• Liver disease
• Pregnancy
• Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
• Smoking
• Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
• Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Source:
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), 25 June 2020:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html