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Those with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. It remains unknown if having type 1 or gestational diabetes increases one’s risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Age, Race and COVID-19 Dumont makes it clear that COVID-19 can affect people of all ages. “No one is immune from COVID,” she says. While a CDC study showed people between the ages of 65 and 74 are five times more likely to be hospitalized, and 90 times more likely to die when compared with 18-to 29-year-olds, Dumont says there “isn’t any good data yet” to determine if young people are more or less likely to suffer long-term side effects compared to older COVID patients. While age plays a factor in hospitalizations or deaths, so does race and ethnicity. A chart oncdc.gov shows Native Americans are nearly three times more likely to have a case of COVID-19 and 5.3 times more likely to be hospitalized compared to white and non-Hispanic people. Additionally, African Americans are 2.6 times more likely to have a COVID-19 case and 4.7 times more likely to be hospitalized than white and non-Hispanic people. Inequities in the social determinants of health, such as poverty and healthcare access, contribute to this disparity, the CDC says. Occupa- tion also plays a role, as people from some racial and ethnic minority

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