With COVID-19 going around the block, everyone is at risk, though there are people all around who are at more risk than the average person. Those most at risk need to use caution during this time.

“Individuals with heart disease, asthma, diabetes, liver disease, lung issues, blood disorders, immune-compromised, high blood pressure, recently pregnant, those on blood thinners, kidney disease, those who have been through cancer treatment and those over 60,” said health teacher Melissa Smith. 

People with any of these issues are considered to have a compromised immune system, meaning that if they caught the COVID-19 disease their immune system would have to work even harder than an average person’s immune system, making them more at risk. Being at risk means that they need to be worried about how they are protecting themselves from COVID-19 more as well.

“Stay inside. Social distance. If you must go out to the grocery store, wear a mask, wash your hands, and wipe down anything you touched in your car after you visited the store like your steering wheel, phone, and door handles,” Smith said. 

These people that are at high risk should work on staying away from other people and wash their hands often if they do have to leave their home and go into the public. According to the CDC, everyone should be washing hands often, avoiding close contact with people who are sick, covering one’s mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others, covering coughs and sneezes, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces daily. 

“The most important thing, and this goes for everybody, is to eat very healthy. A lot of fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C and to take their vitamins,” said a practicing nurse Juile McMurray.

No one has the antibodies in their own body that knows how to fight off COVID-19 yet, which is what makes this pandemic worrisome for those with compromised immune systems. 

“If someone with a compromised immune system did catch it, their system would probably react in a negative way very quickly. They don’t have the antibodies to fight this off. Plus their bodies are much weaker. So what happens is it turns into pneumonia, and they end up going on a respiratory system and they can not stay on that for a prolonged period of time. Very rarely will they live,” McMurray said.