If you live with kidney disease, you are not more likely to get COVID-19. However, you are more likely to get seriously ill from COVID-19.

The virus causes intense infection and inflammation in the body, which can place more stress on the body for people who live with kidney disease and can weaken their ability to fight an infection like COVID-19.

Yes, you should continue taking your current kidney disease medications, including immunosuppressive medication and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker medication. If you have a question about your medications, please call your physician or send your care team a question through the MyNM patient portal. You can access MyNM at mynm.nm.org or through the MyNM^® app on a mobile device.

Do not make changes to your medication without talking to your care team first.

Everyone should follow CDC guidelines to help prevent COVID-19 exposure and infection. We urge you to:

• Get vaccinated.
• Wear a mask.
• Physically distance.
• Exercise.
• Eat well.
• Reduce stress.
• Get plenty of sleep.

Keep at least a 2-week supply of your medications. If you need a refill, call your physician or send a request through MyNM. While refilling your prescription, you can limit exposure to COVID-19 by using a mail-order service or drive-thru pharmacy. Or, have a caregiver pick up your medication.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms such as a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath, you should be tested for COVID-19. Learn about your testing options in the COVID-19 Resource Center at nm.org/covid19.

If you are on dialysis, you may have different core body temperatures than the general population. You should know your normal baseline body temperature so you can determine if you have a fever.

The answer depends on many factors. Follow guidelines from the CDC. If you receive kidney dialysis, you need to continue your dialysis treatments during isolation. Please refer to Kidney Dialysis and COVID-19 for more information.