On Saturday, the Oregon Health Authority reported that three more people had died from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 417 people.
The newly reported deaths include a 37-year-old woman in Multnomah County. They tested positive on August 10 and died on August 15 in Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, and had not known any underlying medical conditions. Due to patient privacy concerns, hospital and government officials do not share specific information about them.
Local public health officials say her death, like that of 34-year-old Vancouver man Danh Tran, underscores how little we understand about the factors that put some healthy young people at risk for serious and even fatal infections .
“All COVID deaths are, of course, loss of friends and family. This one in particular gets our attention because it’s in someone so young that you might not have expected to farm for the virus, “said Dr. Jennifer Vines, Multnomah County Health Officer.
‘I think the bottom line, and what I hear from my medical colleagues, is that this is actually a role of the dice over the life span, clearly in older groups, but also in younger groups. Even regionally, we see about 1 in 20 people in the thirties with the virus being in the hospital. ‘
Age is by far the most important risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease. In Oregon, about 75 percent of those killed by the virus are people who were 70 years old.
Vine said with each infection, it is normal to see a spectrum of disease that can range from no sign of the disease to severe or even fatal symptoms.
Scientists are investigating a number of theories as to why some people become seriously ill with COVID, including genetic factors that influence a person’s immune response, as well as variation in viral load – as well as the number of virus particles present in a person’s body. a person.
Vines said everyone in Multnomah County should take a moment to consider their own family’s precautions against COVID-19, and one additional thing they can do to make themselves safer and reduce the chance of passing the virus on to someone. which is fragile and may not survive.
“Either it’s increasing the use of face masks, or it’s posting a new social gathering to be outside or through Zoom, or the decision to limit contact with people you’ve not seen in a while,” Vines said .
“If we all just did a little extra, it could make a big difference all over the place.”
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