I don’t know much about how viruses behave, but I’m wondering if the amount of virus you are exposed to determines how sick you get. That would explain why hundreds of doctors and nurses are getting sick (and so many young ones dying, under the age of 40) . Then you have other tight quarters like the cruise ship, the mental health institution in S. Korea, the prisons in China, the flight attendants, etc. The health institution in S.Korea has a very high number of severe cases and deaths relative to the rest of the country.
But then others who get the less severe case maybe those who caught in in passing, so a smaller viral load.
Maybe all viruses act this way, I don’t know. I know crowded places you are more likely to catch something but maybe in the case the higher the exposure=the more severe the outcome.
JAPAN
Hokkaido governor declares ‘emergency’
The governor of Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has declared the spread of the virus in his prefecture an emergency, calling on residents to stay home this weekend and only go out if necessary.
Naomichi Suzuki said, “ I believe that, if nothing is done, the coronavirus infection would spread rapidly. In order to bring an end to this issue as soon as possible, and to protect the lives and health of the residents and minimize the impact on the livelihood, I believe that this is the crucial moment. We must take unprecedented measures in order to curb the situation.”
Sixty-six cases have been reported in the prefecture, the most in Japan. Those infected include students, a teacher, and a school-bus driver.
The governor says there is a possibility of a cluster of people infected with the virus in Kitami City.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200228_40/
“I don’t know much about how viruses behave, but I’m wondering if the amount of virus you are exposed to determines how sick you get. That would explain why hundreds of doctors and nurses are getting sick.”
I think other factors determine how sick you get, and one of them might be whether you try to ‘lower your fever’, when your body needs the high temperature to kill it off.
As to viral loading, I think that will determine whether or not you actually get it. Stay in a taxi for 20 minutes with a vector, and you’re toast. Say hi, shake hands, and then walk away from that same vector, and you’re fine. Otherwise, half the world’s population would already be infected.
But, like you, I’m not a medical expert. Therefore, like you, I’m open-minded on health-related issues.
I'm no expert, but with bio-weapons, like anthrax, that is the case. While anthrax isn't a virus, in weaponized form, the dose you get completely overwhelms your immune system. Even if you have been vaccinated, it won't help much. The anthrax vaccine protects from small exposures, like a veterinarian might be exposed to.
I'm NOT saying CV is a bio-weapon, but in some environments, like a hospital ward filled with infected patients in Wuhan, the exposure levels for medical personnel working with sick people 8-12 hours a day, the dose might be far beyond "typical exposure", where someone touched a doorknob then touched their face, and might explain why young, healthy medical personnel are dying.