Mining (IMAGE) West Virginia University Caption Working in coal mines might make people more susceptible to serious complications from COVID-19. Larissa Casaburi, a researcher in the WVU School of Medicine, is using artificial intelligence to study how being a coal miner affects COVID-19 outcomes. She's also investigating the ways smoking, vaping and having a chronic lung condition influence how COVID-19 patients fare. Credit West Virginia University Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.