If You’ve Had This Common Illness, You’re More Likely to Die From COVID

Harvard researchers recently discovered that a prior case of pneumonia can be a strong indicator that you’ll have a more severe—or even deadly—case if infected with COVID. In their new study, published in the journal NPJ Digital Medicine on Feb. 4, they pulled data from the medical records of nearly 17,000 COVID patients. Their research showed that after age, pneumonia was the second-greatest risk factor for death from COVID. Out of those who died from COVID, nearly 49 percent had a history of pneumonia.