ANALYSIS OF 178 people with sickle cell who got COVID in the US suggests that those with the condition should be cautious.

Between March 20th and May 21st, almost 70% of the patients studied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were hospitalised when they had COVID-19.

Sadly, 13 of those surveyed passed away. Researchers also found that those they surveyed with sickle cell and COVID-19 were aged 28.6 on average.

Due to the small sample size, all of these figures should be viewed with extreme caution. However, researchers point out this is far below average death rates for COVID-19.

Those who have been hospitalised for past pain crises may consider taking extra care. More than half of those surveyed with sickle cell, who also got COVID-19 had spent time in hospital due to past pain crises.

Danielle Jinadu, aged 24 has sickle cell, and also became ill with COVID-19 around March.

She wants others with her condition to know that they can overcome COVID-19. However, she became sick with the virus when medical professionals were still learning about it. 

As she didn’t have a cough, her symptoms of weight loss, an ear rash and serious chest pains were attributed to her sickle cell and irritable bowel disease (IBD). 

In fact, Danielle was sent home on two occasions, without being tested for COVID. This led her to infect other members of her family, including her sister who was immunocompromised due to an organ transplant two years ago, and her mother who also has sickle cell. 

It was only when her mother eventually tested positive for COVID-19, that medical staff then tested Danielle’s antibodies and found that she also had the virus.

She understands that the pandemic has been a challenging time for doctors and nurses.

“I don’t see it as they did things wrong, I just see it as an oversight and that they didn’t realise at the time but they took wonderful care of my mum,” she explains.

Danielle encourages others with sickle cell to advocate for themselves. This might mean requesting certain tests from doctors, or making sure that when you are going to A&E someone calls ahead to notify specialist sickle cell nurses. 

She is concerned that people with sickle cell, who are accustomed to high levels of pain may suffer in silence, when it’s important that they speak out to get the help they need.

She says: “I don’t want people with sickle cell to be scared, there are a lot of us who have had it and have coped really well. 

“Those with sickle cell are responding to treatment and are not dying in the way that you might think.

“I’m developing a sense of trust with my body, even though it goes through hard things, it survives them.”