The CDC amended its website to add mental health illnesses, including depression and schizophrenia, to its list of health conditions that make people of any age more likely to become severely ill from Covid-19. The C.D.C. recommends boosters for people 18 or over with certain underlying health issues. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about one in five American adults experience some form of mental illness each year. Preliminary research has shown an association between mental health disorders and hospitalization and severe sickness from Covid. Chronic mental health conditions can exact a physical toll and “wreak havoc on the body’s immune system,” making people who suffer them more vulnerable to diseases like Covid, said Dr. Christine Crawford, associate medical director at NAMI. “They’re at increased risk, just because of the impact the stress response has on the body,” Dr. Crawford said.
