Further evidence indicates disabilities increase the vulnerability to covid-19 infection

Further evidence indicates disabilities increase the vulnerability to covid-19 infection

Researchers have found that people with disabilities are more likely to suffer from severe cases of covid-19 and a higher chance of hospitalization.

From the beginning of the pandemic, researchers have endeavored to identify individuals at high risk from the symptoms of COVID-19, and mounting evidence has suggested that individuals suffering from other medical conditions are particularly susceptible. Though, it is hard to distinguish the effects of covid-19 from other conditions, making it harder to have more accurate predictions.

Speaking of this limitation, UK researchers have compared the risk of COVID-19 related hospital admissions and deaths among individuals with learning disabilities in England with the general population.

With the information gathered by this analysis, it was observed that adults with a learning disability had a 5-fold higher risk of covid-19 than adults who didn’t have this problem. This increase was even higher for individuals with severe to profound learning disabilities than those with a milder learning disability and was also higher among those in residential care.

The researchers emphasize the importance of post-infection treatments and more preventative measures for this group of people.

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