NEW YORK — People with a number of pre-existing conditions were flagged Sunday as being more vulnerable to novel coronavirus.
Individuals over the age of 50 who have heart disease, lung disease, cancer, an immune system vulnerability or diabetes are more at risk, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Smoking or vaping can also make someone more vulnerable to COVID-19.
“That is the category where we’re seeing the biggest problems by far,” de Blasio said. “That’s where the real danger is.”
There are some greater concerns for people with one of those give pre-existing conditions who are under age of 50 and healthy people over the age of 50, de Blasio said. They’ll be fine in most cases, but there is some increased vulnerability.
The biggest category of people is those under 50 who do not have a pre-existing condition and do not smoke or vape.
“That’s the single biggest category of people and for those people, by and large, if you contract coronavirus – you’re under 50, you don’t have those pre-existing conditions – you will generally experience it the same way you do a common cold or flu,” de Blasio said. “It will be unpleasant, but you’ll be OK in the end.”
As of Sunday afternoon, 105 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 across New York.
