Diabetes, dialysis patients must remain vigilant in pandemic

First, we flattened the curve. Now we’ve had a prolonged spike in infections. For some of the most medically vulnerable residents of San Antonio, precautions will always remain in place, even after a COVID-19 vaccine is developed.

Diabetes impacts one in every seven people in San Antonio (14%) compared to one in every nine in Texas (11.4%) and one in every 10 nationwide (10.5%).

“The population of patients with diabetes in San Antonio is higher than the national prevalence,” said diabetes specialist Carolina Solis-Herrera, MD, assistant professor in the Long School of Medicine. “During this continuing pandemic, we are concerned for these individuals. Patients with diabetes have a compromised immune system, which means fighting viral infections takes longer and can be more toxic for the body.”

She urges people with diabetes to continue to social distance, and she reminds family members who serve as support networks to disinfect areas of the house, cover coughs and sneezes, wear masks when going out and avoid touching the face.

In addition to traditional in-office visits, the UT Health Physicians practice of the Long School of Medicine is seeing patients through telemedicine to closely monitor medications and take care of their diabetes, Dr. Solis-Herrera said.

Read the full news release.



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