How coronavirus affects young adults with chronic illnesses and rare diseases

[TheBlackAdder]

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Trump and the RW likes to focus on the mortality rate of young children, passing them off as relatively immune from it. In reality, especially with fetuses and children, the younger the more impacted COVID-19 wreaks havoc to their bodies, creating lifetime chronic illnesses or impaired brain and organ functions. While they might not die at a higher rate as older people, their mortality is in jeopardy of being cut short.

When Gabby McNary, 25, saw the coronavirus begin to take hold in the Philadelphia region, she immediately knew that she had to take it seriously. McNary, who lives just outside the city, tested positive for Huntington’s disease, a rare, inherited disorder that causes progressive nerve cell breakdown in the brain, in 2015.

Although McNary does not yet show symptoms of Huntington’s, she knows that if she were to get sick from COVID-19, the effect could be extremely serious.

“I’m trying not to dwell on it because life is short,” McNary said. “But it is the most isolating thing when we can’t go to a friend’s house, or see our family.”


For young adults with chronic illnesses and rare diseases, it can be frustrating to see their peers ignore public health recommendations and gather with friends at parties, bars, and beaches. Crowds of young people have caused many of the new cases across the country — in the Philadelphia region, people ages 19 to 24 now account for 17% of new cases, up from 5% in April, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

“I can’t even wrap my head around the younger crowd that’s partying and not listening to guidelines,” McNary said. “It’s incredibly disheartening to hear people say that this could be a media ploy.”

More at the jump:
https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/young-adult-rare-disease-chronic-illness-covid-20200722.html

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[LizBeth]

1. My 22 and 25 yr old feel the same.