Populations at Risk for Serious Illness from COVID-19

As coronavirus continues to spread across the state, this analysis of Coloradans at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 helps the state and communities understand the impact that infection may have in certain areas. This information combined with other data sources is critical to help us prepare for future waves of the pandemic and anticipate needs for expanded access to care. For example, the analysis shows that Morgan and Logan counties have a large percentage of younger people (45 to 64 years) at risk for severe disease, and according to CDPHE, those counties also have a high rate of infection. Additional protection and access to care should be considered in areas at risk for severe COVID-19 disease, and additional resources might be particularly urgent if high-infection rates also exist.

In addition to this analysis, visit our publications library to access our latest COVID-19 data set, Elective Procedure Temporary Cessation.

Considerations

  • The analysis does not inform how many people are at risk of contracting the virus or testing positive, but how many people may experience severe illness if COVID-19 is contracted.
  • Data includes people with insurance (Medicaid, Medicare and Commercial) in the Colorado All Payer Claims Database in 2019, and does not include people without insurance.
  • Other factors that contribute to health vulnerability such as race, ethnicity, poverty levels and other social risk factors are not included in this analysis and should be considered when assessing overall risk for COVID-19 transmission and disease severity across geographic regions.

Populations at Risk for Serious Illness from COVID-19

Resources