COVID-19 in Context: Trends, Burden, and Severity

Comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, chronic lung conditions, diabetes, and immunosuppression can dramatically raise the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19. PA Yoke reviews how demographic factors like age, race, and socioeconomic status intersect with these medical risks. She also explains why recognizing high-risk patients early allows clinicians to intervene with targeted approaches through prevention and treatment.

Key Takeaways:

COVID-19 infections are always present but tend to surge twice per year.
It still causes a significant number of hospitalizations and deaths.
Post-COVID conditions impact those affected for months to years.

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Speaker

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Leah Hampson Yoke, PA-C, MCHS

References and Additional Resources:

Akhmerov A, Marbán E. COVID-19 and the heart. Circ Res. 2020;126(10):1443-1455. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.317055

CDC. Clinical Presentation. COVID-19. Published July 24, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/hcp/clinical-care/covid19-presentation.html

CDC. COVID-19 can surge throughout the year. National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Published January 10, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/covid-19-can-surge-throughout-the-year.html

CDC. Preliminary Estimates of COVID-19 Burden for 2024-2025. COVID-19. Published March 19, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/php/surveillance/burden-estimates.html

Cevik M, Kuppalli K, Kindrachuk J, Peiris M. Virology, transmission, and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. BMJ. 2020;371:m3862. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3862

Guan WJ, Ni ZY, Hu Y, et al. Clinical characteristics of Coronavirus disease 2019 in China. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(18):1708-1720. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2002032

Lauer SA, Grantz KH, Bi Q, et al. The incubation period of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from publicly reported confirmed cases: Estimation and application. Ann Intern Med. 2020;172(9):577-582. doi:10.7326/M20-0504

Siddiqi HK, Mehra MR. COVID-19 illness in native and immunosuppressed states: A clinical-therapeutic staging proposal. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2020;39(5):405-407. doi:10.1016/j.healun.2020.03.012

Supported by

Leah Hampson Yoke, PA-C, MCHS

Leah Hampson Yoke is an infectious disease physician assistant within the Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease at UW Medicine/Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Her roles include inpatient/outpatient infectious disease consultations for immunocompromised services, infection prevention, and antimicrobial stewardship. Leah has also published extensively about the role of APPs within infectious disease and has spoken on this at national conferences. Administratively, Leah serves as Chief PA, representing over 800 APPs. She was also the first APP to be elected to the UW Physicians Board of Trustees. She serves on multiple leadership committees across UW Medicine.