About 600 million people in India are at a higher risk of catching coronavirus infection due to other medical conditions

• More than 66% of the world’s population is above 70 or above and have at least one health condition — which makes them most vulnerable to the virus.
  
• They are at higher risk because of their health conditions which can include cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease and sexually transmitted diseases among others.
  
• Moreover, the study says, male population is more likely to be at risk than female across all ages.
  

An estimated 600 million people, about 21.5% of India’s total population have other health problems — which places them at higher risk of catching coronavirus infection than others, says The Lancet Global Health Portal which collected data from 188 countries. Globally, one in every five people is at an “increased risk of severe COVID-19” infection — that’s a whopping 1.7 billion in absolute numbers.

They are at higher risk because of their health conditions which can include cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease and sexually transmitted diseases among others.

Source::Lancet

More than 66% of the world’s population is above 70 or above and have at least one health condition — which makes them most vulnerable to the virus. And an estimated 23% of the working age population are living with at least one “underlying health condition” — with most of them having Chronic kidney disease and diabetes.


Population at increased risk of severe COVID-19
Source: Lancet

Moreover, the study says, male population is more likely to be at risk than female across all ages.

“Males were twice as likely to be at high risk than females across all ages means that males represent a larger share of the numbers at high risk; there were approximately twice the number of males at high risk than females in all age groups younger than 65 years, with this ratio becoming less marked in older age groups where males are less represented in the general population,” the study said.

Not all, but many of these people might develop severe infection, if they get coronavirus. According to the study, 394 million of the 7.8 billion people, facing higher risk, might require hospitalisation.

The study comes as several governments around the world ease lockdown measures and are looking for alternative measures to prevent spread of virus — which is spreading like a wildfire.

Separately, one in every 10 new patients tested in India is COVID-19 positive — hinting that some stretched parts in the country might be in community transmission.

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