Index shows counties at highest risk of future pandemic problems due to underlying health issues - Entrepreneur Generations

Covid-19 health risk by county, compared to the national average. New York Times map. Click the image to enlarge it.

Many areas of the U.S. that haven't yet seen major pandemic outbreaks could still be hard-hit in the coming months because of higher chronic health issues like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other ailments.

"Large parts of the South and Appalachia are especially vulnerable, according to a health-risk index created for The New York Times by PolicyMap, a company that analyzes local health data. The index for the first time identifies counties with high rates of the underlying conditions that increase residents’ risk of becoming severely ill if they are infected with the coronavirus," Nadja Popovich, Anjali Singhvi, and Matthew Conlen report for The New York Times. "Even in lower-risk counties, a significant proportion of the population is living with these conditions."

The counties at highest risk are rural. Of the index's top 11 highest-risk counties where coronavirus cases are growing, Dallas County, Alabama has the highest population, at about 44,000, the Times reports.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2ZjkOcc Index shows counties at highest risk of future pandemic problems due to underlying health issues - Entrepreneur Generations

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