What Is An ‘Underlying Health Condition’ Anyway?

When someone dies with Covid-19, one question that quickly comes up, is did they have an underlying health condition?

It seems we find it easier to accept a person's death if we think they were already very ill or elderly, but is this just a way of excusing these deaths? And how do you know if your own medical conditions make you more vulnerable?

The Quicky speaks to a medical expert to find out what counts as an 'underlying health condition', and how much of an impact that really has on your risk of falling seriously ill or even dying from Covid-19.

CREDITS 

Host/Producer: Claire Murphy

Executive Producer: Siobhán Moran-McFarlane

Audio Producer: Ian Camilleri

Guest:

Professor Nancy Baxter - Head of the School Of Population And Global Health at the University of Melbourne, a clinical epidemiologist, general surgeon and health services researcher.

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