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Why COVID-19 is more deadly in people with obesity—even if they're young ‘The stickiest blood I've ever seen’ and other weight-related factors worsen the coronavirus disease Science | AAAS

Since the pandemic began, dozens of studies have reported that many of the sickest COVID-19 patients have been people with obesity. In recent weeks, that link has come into sharper focus as large new population studies have cemented the association and demonstrated that even people who are merely overweight are at higher risk.

ZURICH/GENEVA (Reuters) - Safety of a prospective COVID-19 vaccine comes "first and foremost", the World Health Organization's chief scientist said on Wednesday, as a trial of a leading candidate from AstraZeneca was paused due to concerns over side effects.

Rollout of an effective vaccine is seen as a crucial step in helping battered economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Just because we talk about speed...it doesn't mean we start compromising or cutting corners on what would normally be assessed," Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said in a social media event.

"The process still has to follow through rules of the game. For drugs and vaccines which are given to people, you have to test their safety, first and foremost," she said.