Coronavirus Hot Spots Erupt in Nation's High-Risk Communities

While urban centers like New York City and Seattle have been ravaged in the first couple of months of the coronavirus pandemic, Politico Pro warns that a broader swath of smaller markets already in poor health are now facing heightened risk. A new analysis, combining health data from researchers with a tracker of Covid-19 infections from the New York Times, determined that one in three of the counties now seeing rapid spread of the virus also have some of the highest rates of heart disease among adults 65 and older, which physicians say can leave people more vulnerable to complications. Throughout the country, infections are projected to double within a week in over 240 counties with more than 50 or more Covid-19 cases, according to the Times data. Almost 90 of those counties already have elevated rates of heart problems, with 2016 data showing that 20 percent or more of their senior residents on Medicare were hospitalized for cardiovascular disease over a two-year period. These same communities have a lower median income than the U.S. average and a higher population of non-white residents. Health officials lament that the true rates are likely significantly higher as testing shortages have permitted many infected people to go undetected and continue to spread the virus.