Many conditions and treatments can weaken a person’s immune system (making them “immunocompromised”). Some of these include: People with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of getting severely sick from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
They may also remain infectious for a longer period of time than others with COVID-19, but we cannot confirm this until we learn more about this new virus. .
For details, see CDC’s advice for what you can do to prepare for COVID-19 and how to protect yourself and others. If you have cancer now or had cancer in the past, you might need to take special steps to protect your health: If you take medications that weaken your immune system, called immunosuppressant medications: Some people are