According to the CDC, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and following preventive measures are especially important if you are older or have one or more health conditions, including those listed below. Also, if you have one or more of the conditions listed, you are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19 and be hospitalized, need intensive care, require a ventilator to breathe, and/or die. The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 increases as the number of risk factors increases. Risk factors include:

• Age 50 years or older
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Cerebrovascular disease including stroke
• Chronic kidney disease (at any stage)
• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic lung diseases
• Cystic fibrosis
• Dementia and other neurological conditions
• Diabetes (type 1 or type 2)
• Disabilities
• Heart conditions including heart failure and possibly high blood pressure
• Hemoglobin blood disorders
• HIV infection
• Immunocompromised condition or weakened immune system
• Mental health conditions
• Obesity or being overweight
• Physical inactivity
• Pregnancy or recent pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Smoking, current or former
• Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
• Substance use disorders
• Tuberculosis
• Use of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medications

The list above does not include all possible conditions that put you at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Severe outcomes of COVID-19 are defined as hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death. The conditions on this list are in alphabetical order. They are not in order of risk.

Understanding your increased risk of experiencing severe outcomes of COVID-19 can assist you in making decisions about how to help protect yourself and those you take care of. Take this list with you to review with your doctor at your next appointment. This list should not be used to exclude people with underlying conditions from recommended measures for prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Some people are at increased risk of getting very sick or dying from COVID-19 because of where they live or work, or because they can’t get health care. This includes many people from racial and ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities.

Talk to your healthcare provider, if you have questions about a condition not included on this list or questions on how to manage your condition and help protect yourself against COVID-19 and severe illness.

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