The COVID-19 Risk Factor You Can Control.

The COVID-19 Risk Factor You Can Control.If you are concerned about your risk from COVID-19, then you should know that there may be significant opportunities to lower your risk beyond hand washing and social distancing. COVID-19 is stabilizing or decreasing in many parts of the world, and this is good news. However, many experts predict the pandemic is far from over, and the worse may be yet to come. The concern is there may be further surges in COVID-19 with the world starting to open. And healthcare organizations are worried that a flood of COVID-19 patients, in addition to those with seasonal flu this fall and winter, may overwhelm their limited resources and prevent them from providing care to all who need it. There is so much that is not in our control – but, it’s important to remember that there is also much that is within our control.Our knowledge about COVID-19 grows daily, and it has become clear that certain people are at particularly high risk from COVID-19. It was recognized early in the pandemic that those over 65 years of age are a high-risk group. And it is becoming increasingly apparent that those who are not in good health, such as those with unhealthy weight, diabetes, or heart disease, are also particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. For example, one database has shown that less than 1% of those who have died from COVID-19 were previously healthy and did not have conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, immunodeficiency, lung, heart, liver, or kidney disease.