Since the start of the pandemic, the virus hasn’t changed in any obviously important ways. It’s mutating in the way that all viruses do. But of the 100-plus mutations that have been documented, none has risen to dominance, which suggests that none is especially important. “The virus has been remarkably stable given how much transmission we’ve seen” […] a person’s genes, the vagaries of their immune system, the amount of virus they’re exposed to, the other microbes in their bodies—might play a role too. In general, “it’s a mystery why some people have mild disease, even within the same age group,” Iwasaki says. [The Atlantic]

The data shows that men and women have roughly the same chance of contracting the virus. When the scientists looked at 44,672 patients confirmed to have the disease, they found there were 106 diagnosed men per 100 women. However, the impact on men appears to be worse, at least among those who were part of this initial study. While 2.8% of the men diagnosed with the disease died, only 1.7% of women did. […] more than 80% experienced only mild symptoms. Almost 14% were classed as severe cases, while the condition of almost 5% was determined to be critical. […] among people aged 49 or younger, only about 0.2% of those who contracted the disease died, compared to 14.8% of those who were 80 and older.

[In Italy] Men make up nearly 60 percent of people with confirmed cases of the virus and more than 70 percent of those who have died of covid-19

[An explanation regarding the high Italy’s (mostly Lombardy’s) death rate. Only those showing symptoms/being hospitalized are tested. Those showing mild or no symptoms are not tested/not confirmed cases.] En Lombardie, où le système est complètement débordé, on n’a plus les moyens de tester. Donc on arrive à un nombre très « faible » de personnes positives. Les 20 000 cas ne sont que la « partie émergée de l’iceberg », et le taux de mortalité anormalement élevé n’est que le reflet de cette double réalité : un nombre de positifs sous-évalué et des hôpitaux qui craquent. Dans le reste du pays, les taux de mortalité sont beaucoup plus faibles, comparables à ce qu’on a pu observer en Asie. Ce qui indique bien que les données italiennes sont complètement faussées, surtout en Lombardie. [Le Monde]

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The World vs. SARS-CoV-2, germs | March 20th, 2020