High-risk people

A high-risk individual, high-risk person, or high-risk population is a human being or beings living with an increased risk for severe illness due to age, medical condition, pregnancy/post-pregnant conditions, geographical location, or a combination of these risk factors.

High-risk people qualification
High-risk people can be of any age. High-risk populations are vulnerable to serious illness. Globally, societal factors including limited access to healthcare and inadequate hygiene facilities can result in high-risk individuals. Access to proper healthcare is essential to the health and treatment of high-risk individuals, particularly high-risk mothers and infants. High-risk individuals can require long-term care.

In immunology, a person qualifies as a high-risk individual if their immune system is compromised or suppressed whether due to disease, cancer, chronic conditions, prescription medications, or recent surgical procedures. High-risk people are more susceptible to hospitalization and death from the Coronavirus disease 2019. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends high-risk persons get the COVID-19 vaccine.

In psychiatry, a high-risk individual is a patient who engages in high-risk behaviors. In addiction treatment lexicon, a high-risk person refers to a person with a high likelihood of addiction and/or high likelihood of relapse.

Criteria for COVID-19
Risk factors that have been cited in the United States as defining high-risk individuals for suffering the more serious symptoms of COVID-19 include:
 * Being 65 years of age or older
 * Being obese
 * Living in a nursing home or long-term care facility
 * Being diabetic
 * Being pregnant/post-pregnant
 * Having chronic kidney disease or are undergoing dialysis
 * Having lung diseases, including moderate to severe asthma
 * Having serious heart conditions or hypertension
 * Being immunocompromised
 * Having sickle cell disease
 * Having neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy