The United States' leading public health agency altered its list of higher risk to severe COVID-19 illness, affixing pregnant women.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised their list of underlying illnesses that make an individual more susceptible to pain and death.
Pregnant women could be at an increased risk for severe illness from the novel coronavirus when compared with women not expecting, reported CNN.
Expecting moms who are diagnosed with the illness are more susceptible to be admitted to a hospital, undergo treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU), and assigned to a ventilator, according to the CDC's weekly report on Thursday.
The CDC traced over 8,200 pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19. They are not so much likely to die, but are more vulnerable to being sick, reported ABC News.
According to the CDC, it is clear that a tantamount number of US citizens are at an increased risk of serious illness from the coronavirus outbreak. They underscored the importance of following in accordance with preventive measures.
The public health agency further added medical conditions that could result in an individual's risk of serious illness: high blood pressure, asthma, cerebrovascular illness including stroke, and neurologic conditions including dementia.
The elderly and individuals with such underlying medical conditions remain at the list of CDC, but now they have further identified condition- and age-related factors.
"Understanding who is most at risk for severe illness helps people make the best decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities," according to CDC Director Robert Redfield MD.
An MMWR study suggested that pregnant women are susceptible to severe COVID-19.
The agency is collaborating with various health departments and external partners to better understand the coronavirus amid pregnancy.
Findings demonstrate that pregnant Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women are inordinately affected by SARS-CoV-2 illness amid pregnancy period.
"During pregnancy, women experience immunologic and physiologic changes that could increase their risk for more severe illness from respiratory infections," according to Sascha Ellington, Ph.D. of the CDC's COVID-19 Emergency Response Team and her colleagues.
Redfield stated that more infections among young individuals could partly be attributed to a rise in diagnosing disease within the group, whose members are less likely to contract the virus than the elderly.
Sickle cell disease was added to the list of underlying medical conditions for vulnerability to the coronavirus. The limit for obesity's risky levels was decreased.
According to the website of CDC initially, "Although there are currently no data showing that COVID-19 affects pregnant people differently than others, we do know that pregnant people are at greater risk of getting sick from other respiratory viruses than people who are not pregnant."
The new MMWR report has acquired data with vital limitations.
"This new report includes the largest US cohort of pregnant women with lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection," Sara Oliver of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases stated.
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