The concerns and fears of being positive for COVID-19 continue over a year later in the United States, and fortunately, access to vaccines has increased for more people and age groups.
Still, there remain some who are weary and not trusting of the available vaccines, and this is especially the case in the black community, but the black community also faces higher rates of diabetes. Diabetes and COVID is not a good combination, especially for those of us with advanced diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood sugar, or blood glucose, is too high. Blood sugar plays an important part in the body’s function as it is your body’s main source of energy. Insulin is the hormone that is made by the pancreas.
Those with type 2 diabetes struggle to produce the insulin needed to rid the blood of too much glucose, which can lead to other health problems, including heart disease, eye problems, kidney disease, and nerve damage.
For those with type 1 diabetes, this diagnosis represents a more severe or progressive form of diabetes.
While type 2 diabetics may take oral medications, such as metformin, for instance, to help control their blood sugar, type 1 diabetics must take insulin injections to serve as a replacement to help control their blood sugar.
Risk factors for black people with diabetes include fat around the abdomen and weight, which are considered the primary reasons that the rates of diabetes are higher for black Americans over white Americans.
Having diabetes doesn’t necessarily increase death probability for those with COVID, according to a recent study.