Question: How was it decided who is at high risk from COVID-19?

Answer passage (source: CDC):
page_title: Frequently Asked Questions: Funeral and Burial Services for American Indians and Alaska Natives
section_headers: Higher Risk
Who is most at risk for severe illness from COVID-19?
section_content: COVID-19 can cause mild to severe illness. This can result in someone being
admitted to the hospital and even an intensive care unit. It can even cause
death. People who are infected often have symptoms of illness. People 65 and
older and people of any age who have serious underlying medical
conditions might be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. This
includes people with serious heart conditions, severe obesity, diabetes,
chronic kidney disease (or undergoing dialysis), liver disease, chronic lung
disease or moderate to severe asthma, or people who have a weakened immune
system (immunocompromised). Everyone can take actions, such as social
distancing, to help slow the spread.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
The answer doesn't really answer the question. It gives a lot of detailed information about who is at risk, but the question is asking how we know which groups are at high risk. That doesn't get addressed at all.
This answer needs improvement because it fails to state how the CDC knows who is of higher risk of having complications from COVID. The answer only states which group(s) of people are at higher risk.

Reviewer ratings:
Bad
Could be Improved

Answer passage (source: CDC):
page_title: Frequently Asked Questions
section_headers: Higher Risk
Who is at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19?
section_content: COVID-19 is a new disease and there is limited information regarding risk
factors for severe disease. Based on currently available information and
clinical expertise, older adults and people of any age who have serious
underlying medical conditions might be at higher risk for severe illness
from COVID-19.
Based on what we know now, those at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19
are:

People aged 65 years and older
People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility

People of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not
well controlled, including:

People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma
People who have serious heart conditions
People who are immunocompromised 
Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications


People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥40)
People with diabetes
People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis
People with liver disease


Reviewer feedback on this answer:
The answer needs improvement because it only states who is at higher risk of COVID complications, but it doesn’t state how this information was formed.
The question talks more about who is at high risk, rather than how we know they are at high risk. It is addressed a little bit, when they say "based on currently available information and clinical expertise". But that is very vague and doesn't offer much specific information.

Reviewer ratings:
Could be Improved
Could be Improved

Answer passage (source: CDC):
page_title: Frequently Asked Questions
section_headers: Higher Risk
How were the underlying conditions for people considered higher risk of serious illness with COVID-19 selected?
section_content: This list is based on:

What we are learning from the outbreak in other countries and in the United States.
What we know about risk from other respiratory infections, like flu.

As CDC gets more information about COVID-19 cases here in the United States,
we will update this list as needed.

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer is excellent because it states how the CDC knows which group of people will have the most complications from COVID.
While there is not a great deal of specific detailed information, the information provided does give the basics of how we know who is at high risk. It is somewhat vague, but it does answer the question.

Reviewer ratings:
Excellent
Acceptable