As a corollary to your question, I ask what actually kills?
Corona virus or the resultant associated pneumonia?
Early reports said that pneumonia killed those infected with corona virus
The virus can cause a severe VIRAL pneumonia. Thats whats caused most of the deaths.
‘Cytokine storm’ pneumonia.
In China it looks like about 20% of those infected need ICU beds for weeks.
Hope we have lots of those ICU beds.
(and pray it doesn’t come here might be better than that even!)
Patients USUALLY pneumonia, or simply heart failure, or pulmonary edema (drowning in secretions, leaking lymph/serum through damaged membranes), but viruses in general can trigger reactions like sympathetic nervous system dystrophy (POTS) very acutely resulting in VERY low blood pressure inadequate to perfuse tissues (brain, heart, gut) with hypoxia and death, and the occasional anaphylactic response which kills through some of the same mechanisms I mentioned.
There are cases of people getting flu (and coronavirus, parainfluenza, RSV, multiple different enteroviruses) just up and dying within hours or a day of contracting the illness due to anaphylactic shock. Anaphylaxis can be as mild as papular or geographic plaque-like hives, or as serious as a reaction as one might get from staphylococcal sepsis.
Deaths from upper respiratory viruses still, in the main, remain in age categories of very young (two or less), the elderly (65 and over), people with generally weakened/impaired immune systems (HIV/AIDS, rheumatological conditions - known or unknown), people with COPD/emphysema, Cystic Fibrosis and other lung conditions which make them more susceptible to secondary bacterial infections and people with heart conditions, or other cardiovascular or kidney disease and more.
Not to argue teleology here, but viruses “want” to survive. There is NO value in killing 100% of your hosts before your progeny are cast into the general population to continue your genetic lineage.
It’s why we’ve never seen a viral lethality rate much into the 90% range. There are natural immunities existing random inborn genetic coding for protective antibodies and other immune response - remember, not everyone responds to immunizations. Some people can get repeated Tetanus vaccines, or smallpox, or measles and NEVER “take”, or develop an immune response, the antigen being presented being unrecognizable through natural selection.
In the cases of China’s deaths, WTFK? I mean, the Chicoms have NEVER been what you call open/honest or responsive to world-wide health concerns, all medical data shared being of dubious quality and accuracy.
Multiple UNofficial reports indicate the number of infected AND the deaths are an order of magnitude higher than are being reported officially, which I don’t doubt.
More than deaths and disability, the BIG worry in a global pandemic such as the Wuhan Corona (said like the Mexican mass murderer of the 1970s) is what is going to happen to interconnected economies.
We might - MIGHT - just be seeing the fulfillment of the ancient Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times.”