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cdc.gov

Older adults and people who have severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease seem to be at higher risk for more serious COVID-19 illness. Early data suggest older people are twice as likely to have serious COVID-19 illness.  This may be because:

    As people age, their immune systems change, making it harder for their body to fight off diseases and infection.
    Many older adults are also more likely to have underlying health conditions that make it harder to cope with and recover from illness.

If a COVID-19 outbreak happens in your community, it could last for a long time. Depending on the severity of the outbreak, public health officials may recommend community actions to reduce exposures to COVID-19. These actions can slow the spread and reduce the impact of disease.

If you are at increased risk for COVID-19 complications due to age or because you have a severe underlying medical condition, it is especially important for you to take actions to reduce your risk of exposure.

A researcher works in a laboratory developing testing for the coronavirus. Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty Images

axios.com - by Jonathan Swan, Caitlin Owens - March 1, 2020

A top federal scientist sounded the alarm about what he feared was contamination in an Atlanta lab where the government made test kits for the coronavirus, according to sources familiar with the situation in Atlanta . . . 

 . . . The FDA official who visited the Atlanta lab, Timothy Stenzel, is the director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health . . . 

 . . . Stenzel is a highly-regarded scientist and diagnostics expert. He was on the ground in Atlanta to deal with technical issues and happened to stumble upon the inappropriate procedures and possible contaminants.

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A dog looks out of a house flooded by Hurricane Maria, in Catano town, Juana Matos, Puerto Rico, on September 21, 2017.  Hector Retamal | AFP | Getty Images

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts - January 2020

cnbc.com - by Pippa Stevens - January 16, 2020

KEY POINTS

McKinsey said trillions of dollars in economic activity and hundreds of millions lives are at risk from a changing climate.

“Much as thinking about information systems and cyber-risks has become integrated into corporate and public-sector decision making, climate change and its resulting risks will also need to feature as a major factor in decisions,” McKinsey Global Institute director Jonathan Woetzel said.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warned this week that the intensifying climate crisis will bring about a fundamental reshaping of finance, with a significant reallocation of capital set to take place “sooner than most anticipate.”

ADELAIDE HILLS - MFS fire crews fight a bushfire on Wattle Road in Kersbrook, on January 2, 2015 in Adelaide Hills, Australia. (Photo by Campbell Brodie/Newspix/Getty Images)

cnn.com - by Leah Asmelash - January 12, 2020

The fires in Australia have been burning for months, consuming nearly 18 million acres of land, causing thousands to evacuate and killing potentially millions of animals . . .

 . . . The Australian state of New South Wales, where both Sydney and Canberra are located, declared a state of emergency this week, as worsening weather conditions could lead to even greater fire danger.

But a 50,000-year-old solution could exist: Aboriginal burning practices.

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