Diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure are the primary characteristics of metabolic syndrome. 46% of Americans are metabolically unwell.
This article again:
COVID-19 Disease: ORF8 and Surface Glycoprotein Inhibit Heme Metabolism by Binding to Porphyrin
Takes us back again to intercellular zinc and ACE2 expression. CCP-19 is a systemic disorder and not just respiratory that binds to all ACE2 organs expressing both RNA and Protein ACE2.
Metabolic syndrome also is not just a condition of the aged in the US. That is why we are seeing a disproportionate amount of young cases here.
You nailed it—the risk in the US is higher for younger folks than it is in Asia, for example.
The idiots at CDC _totally_ missed this—no excuses for those clowns.