Obesity. Diabetes. Heart disease. COPD. Kidney disease. These chronic medical conditions all raise the risk of suffering a severe case of COVID-19, but a new government report shows some parts of the United States are far more vulnerable to these risks than others. In a review of more than 3,000 U.S. counties, researchers from the U.S. CDC found that "the median county prevalence of any of five underlying medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19-associated illness was 47.2%, and prevalences were higher in counties in the southeastern United States and in more rural counties."