Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Coronavirus Q&A: I Have An Underlying Condition. How Much More Cautious Should I Be?
This illustration reveals the morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
()
We’re asking public health officials and experts to answer your questions about the coronavirus outbreak. Keep in mind that our understanding of the virus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, is still evolving, and that this information does not constitute professional medical advice. For questions regarding your own health, always consult a physician.
Audience member Joan Miller wanted “guidance for people with chronic illnesses and ‘underlying conditions.’ How much more cautious should we be?”
Here’s an explanation from Dr. Shruti Gohil with the University of California Irvine Medical Center, who’s helping lead the effort to prepare the hospital for COVID-19:
“So if you're a diabetic or asthmatic and/or have some other immunocompromising condition, you are at higher risk than someone without those conditions. But, say you're a very well-controlled diabetic or a very well-controlled asmathic and you've weathered viruses in the past and maybe even this season... there's a spectrum. It's really important that patients understand that each of us are on a spectrum of what your risk is.”
Support for LAist comes from
If you're on chemotherapy, for instance, or if you’re a transplant patient on special medication, then your risk is very high and you should take extra precautions, Miller said. If you have any questions about your situation, you should discuss with your doctor, she said.
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS:
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist