On September 4, 2020, the American Association of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (AAAAI) published a summary of research to date on asthma and COVID-19. In describing the article, the authors write, “There have been many studies looking at the relationship between COVID-19 and asthma. Thus far, the vast majority of these studies have found no increased risk of COVID-19 disease severity in those with asthma. Further, there appears to be no indication that asthma is a risk factor for developing COVID-19 disease. However, a few studies have suggested that non-allergic asthma may be associated with more severe COVID-19 disease, although it is not clear in these studies that subjects did not have COPD, which is a well-established risk for severe COVID-19. A few studies have also suggested a higher rate of intubation in asthma patients hospitalized with COVID-19, but other studies have not replicated these findings. Finally, early data from New York State had suggested a reduced death rate in asthma patients hospitalized with COVID-19, but this has not been reproduced in other studies. Taken together, it appears that there is either no risk or at most a very slight risk for more severe COVID-19 disease in non-allergic asthma patients. This is in contrast to other risk factors like COPD, obesity, etc., that have consistently been linked to more severe COVID-19 disease.” The full summary is available here.
