In July, 2020, the Adolescent and Young Adult Health National Resource Center published original research on young adult vulnerability to severe illness from COVID-19, featured in the Journal Of Adolescent Health.
The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly evolving, and healthcare and public health professionals around the globe have been tasked with meeting the ever-changing needs of diverse populations while establishing a firm knowledge of the factors influencing COVID-19 infection.
In the early phase of the pandemic, it was immediately clear that older populations were suffering from higher rates of severe illness, yet cases in younger populations were soon reported. Recognizing this, the AYAH-NRC set out to identify what vulnerability factors were present in young adult populations.
Guided by CDC-identified medical conditions and behavioral factors, the AYAH-NRC investigated young adult vulnerability to more severe illness due to COVID-19.
The team discovered that 1 out of 3 young adults has vulnerability to severe illness due to COVID-19. However, when broken down by subgroup, vulnerability in the non-smoking / e-cigarette population is halved to 1 out of 6.
As a modifiable vulnerability factor, this finding drives home the importance of effective anti-smoking and smoking cessation initiatives, especially now in the world of COVID-19.
To view the open-access journal article, click here.
To download the infographic, click here here.