It seems unlikely that only certain groups will be highly affected by it, but it’s a hope at this point - as maybe the mortality rate won’t be as bad in the U.S. Could be wishful thinking!
As I understand it, there has been racial-specific bioweapon research. If this were a Chinese-specific virus the theory is that that would have been a step toward a vaccine China would have been developing so they could vaccinate their own population (or some portion of it, I suppose) against an offensive weapon that they released elsewhere in the world (such as in the US).
This was Francis Boyle’s explanation in an interview a couple of days ago, but because of the reported African victim, they were thinking that less likely to be the case.