Immunocompromised Sarah Hyland Says Her 'Panic Level Is Pretty High'

Sarah Hyland is opening about being a "high-risk" candidate for contracting coronavirus. The 29-year-old actress was diagnosed with kidney dysplasia when she was younger and has received two kidney transplants in the last 8 years. As a result, Hyland is immunocompromised, which makes the current pandemic much more dangerous for her than others in her age group.

“I am obviously immunocompromised with my transplant history and am on immunosuppressants, so everything in this house is sanitized,” she said in a recent interview. She jokingly adding, “I just took a shot of hand sanitizer, so we’re good.”

Hyland then explained why contracting coronavirus would be so much worse for her than it would be for a healthy person in their twenties. “Say someone gets a 24-hour bug, I get it for a week or more. For me, it’s really dangerous."

Knowing that the threat is much higher for herself, she revealed that her "panic level is pretty high" as the virus continues to spread in the United States. "But I also have a lot of health issues that are very susceptible to stress, so I’m trying to remain calm," she added. “My game plan right now is to stay home,” she said, explaining that when she is forced to leave the safety of her home for existing doctor appointments, she wears gloves and a face mask as an extra precaution.

Hyland so called out some behaviors of young, healthy people during the ongoing pandemic. “The most annoying thing to me right now are young, healthy people who are raiding grocery stores, who are raiding pharmacies,” she said. “They’re leaving people over the age of 60, who may not have a child to do their shopping for them, left to their own devices.”

If Hyland was able to assist in any way, she would be helping the elderly get groceries and other essential items for social distancing. “I think it’s really an important time to practice compassion, love, generosity,” she said. “Let’s learn from something like this. We’re literally dealing with people who could die and I just think it’s really a time to come together."

Photo: Getty