The United States of America is clearly struggling to end the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Raging political battles over locking down versus opening up, and whether to wear masks, have led to a patchwork of policies and rolling hot spots.
What's more, a vast majority of Americans are exceptionally vulnerable to suffering severe complications or even death from the virus.
According to UPI, two-thirds of the US population have underlying conditions that put them at risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms.
At a minimum, roughly half of US adults have at least one of the five high-risk health problems associated with poor outcomes.
These include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity.
35% of the population is obese, 13% have diabetes, 9% have either COPD or heart disease, and 3% have chronic kidney disease.