Asthma does not appear to increase the risk for a person contracting Covid-19 or affect its severity, according to new research. The team from Rutgers University in the US found that people with asthma – even those with diminished lung function who are being treated to manage asthmatic inflammation – seem to be no worse affected by SARS-CoV-2 than a non-asthmatic person. “Older age and conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and obesity are reported risk factors for the development and progression of COVID-19,” said Reynold A. Panettieri Jr, a pulmonary critical care physician and director of the Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science. To read the full story.