Diabetics are 10.3 times more likely to develop Covid-19, and their symptoms are more severe and life-threatening, with over a quarter of all infected patients already suffering from the illness as a pre-existing condition.
That’s according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who told officials that coronavirus is especially dangerous for those suffering with the common metabolic disorder.
“In patients with diabetes, Covid-19 infection is 10.3 times more common,” Golikova explained. “Patients with diabetes experience the disease more severely, and more frequently develop acute respiratory distress syndrome, as well as respiratory failure, [requiring] artificial ventilation and, unfortunately, [experiencing] higher mortality.”
Also on rt.com Leading Russian virologist says another Covid-19 lockdown may lead to RIOTS, economic fallout could be worse than pandemic itselfAccording to Golikova, 27 percent of all infected patients have diabetes among their comorbidities, and this is often complicated by increased glycemia. As of the start of 2020, 5.1 million people in Russia had a diabetes diagnosis. She noted that the risk is even higher in patients with high blood pressure.
Curiously, earlier this week, American Covid-19 patient Mario Buelna experienced exactly the opposite situation – he developed diabetes for the first time, having contracted coronavirus. According to his doctors in Mesa, Arizona, Buelna’s diabetes was triggered by Covid-19.
Also on rt.com Sputnik V close to public launch: Moscow will begin mass vaccination against Covid-19 at end of December, says Mayor SobyaninSpeaking to London-based news agency Reuters, Dr. Robert Eckel, president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, thinks that coronavirus could be causing “an entirely new form of diabetes.”
On Friday, Russia recorded its highest ever number of daily confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 17,340 infections in just 24 hours. The jump brings the country’s official number of infections to 1,480,646, which is more than all but three other countries: the US (8,411,294), India (7,761,312), and Brazil (5,323,630). Despite the relatively high number of cases, government data shows that just 25,525 Russians have died, which is far fewer than in at least 10 other countries, including the UK, Italy, Spain, and France.
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