As pandemic restrictions are lifted across the United States, millions of immunocompromised Americans feel in limbo, unsure about how safe they are.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that 7 million Americans are immunocompromised, though they make up between 40-44% of serious breakthrough COVID-19 infections. People with HIV, organ transplants, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and other immunity-compromising conditions are considered at greater risk.
A lung transplant recipient, Mike Olsen, told Fox News that, because of his weakened immune system he continues to live life on high alert
“People can still spread the virus to someone like me, who’s immune suppressed. They don’t realize they can,” Olsen said. “When they take off their masks that puts me in a predicament where I have to be more extra careful now in public.”
According to Dr. Abhijit Duggal, a pulmonary medicine specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, vaccines would reduce the risk of infection and severe illness. Still, many immunocompromised people barely respond to the COVID-19 shots.
“They have a higher risk of getting sick enough to come to the hospital more often, needing the ICU more often,” Duggal said. “I know it’s difficult two years into the pandemic. But because we are unsure about the risk for these populations, we need to be mindful that we protect them.”
Duggal told Fox News that, feeling unprotected, several of Duggal’s patients have lived far more isolated lives during the pandemic than most people.
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