A study has revealed that patients who are suffering from asthma are less likely to die due to COVID19 disease. This report has come as a follow-up of some recent studies on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and endeavors to find a vaccine for it. The new study says that asthma patients who have been diagnosed with COVID19 infection are not at a higher risk of hospitalization as compared to those without asthma. Asthma patients with COVID19 do not require any mechanical breathing assistance as well. Scientists at a Boston healthcare system have analyzed nearly 562 asthma patients who have been diagnosed with COVID19 infection. They have compared these asthma patients with similar age 2658 coronavirus patients.
However, earlier, experts had cautioned people saying those who are living with some underlying conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma might be at a higher risk of severe COVID19 disease. In the new study, scientists have said that the rate of hospitalization among people with asthma, who have tested positive for COVID19 and those COVID19 patients, who are not asthmatic has been quite similar. The hospitalization rate for both groups has been 18 to 21 percent. Experts have reported that around 3 percent of asthma patients with coronavirus have required mechanical ventilation. At the same time, around 4 percent of COVID19 patients without asthma have been put on mechanical ventilation.
Nevertheless, scientists have found that asthma patients who have been diagnosed with COVID19 infection are 70 percent less likely to die due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The study has included around 44 severe asthma patients with coronavirus. It has found that none of them has lost their lives due to COVID19. The underlying factors for these findings are still uncertain. However, experts have said that the biological mechanism and effect of asthma medication might be the reasons behind such findings. Many health professionals have said that there is a need for more extensive studies to determine the cause and effect of these conclusions.
