Knowing Your COVID-19 Risk

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As the pandemic continues, fighting COVID-19 becomes increasingly complicated.  As of May 2021, nearly 50% of American adults have been at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, but the pandemic risks continue.  Worldwide, 2 in 3 epidemiologies agree viral mutations will render first-generation vaccines ineffective by 2022.  88% of epidemiologists also agreed that low vaccination rates in some countries would lead to more vaccine-resistant strains.

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We need to have 70% to 85% of the population vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.  During that time, new variants of the novel coronavirus will continue to evolve and spread around the world.  Thus, by the time most of the world is vaccinated, first-generation vaccines will likely be ineffective; another round of mass vaccination will be required to protect individuals from the virus.

Vaccines offer good protection, but not complete protection against the coronavirus.  The COVID-19 vaccine is not 100% effective at preventing disease like all vaccines, and existing vaccines are less effective against new variants.  It’s still unclear whether vaccinated people can still infect others, and slowing the spread also slows the emergence of new variants.  Vaccinated individuals must continue some precautions until the pandemic slows.

Understanding COVID-19 Risk

There is a better way to end the pandemic.  Understanding COVID-19 risk can be an effective way to lessen the dangers associated with the virus. A wide variety of health conditions, including cancer, chronic lung disease, Alzheimer's, obesity, and heart conditions, have all been associated with increased risk of infection and severe disease.  People that are immunocompromised are also at increased risk.  Even if an individual has one of these conditions, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will develop severe COVID-19.

Knowing your risk can help everyone return to normal life by implementing risk-based precautions.  By understanding individual risk, the onus is put on the individual to determine how much risk they are willing to take.  The majority of people can practice routine precautions like masking and hand-washing.  At-risk populations can take more rigorous precautions by social distancing and avoiding large crowds.  The result is safety measures become more palatable to the public.  In turn, there will be increased compliance with the necessary precautions, slowing the spread and mutation of the virus.

Previously, 1 in 4 adults could be incorrectly categorized for their risk of developing severe COVID-19 until now.  At-home COVID-19 risk test kits determine the risk of developing severe COVID-19.  It considers 16 comorbidities and genetic markers, improves risk prediction by 25% over standard clinical models, and you can receive your risk score and a detailed report within 5-7 days.  Know your risk in the fight against COVID-19 and learn more in the visuals below:

Covid-19 Risk

Infographic Source: Genetype