Epidemiological Risk Factors of SARS-CoV-2 Infections

Since the first recognitions by governments of the pandemic characteristic of the SARS-CoV-2 infections, public health agencies have warned the public about the dangers of the virus to persons with a variety of underlying physical conditions, many of which are more commonly found in persons over 50 years old or in certain ethnic groups. To investigate the statistical, rather than physiological basis of such warnings, this study examines correlations globally on a nation-by-nation basis between the statistical data concerning COVID-19 fatalities among the populations of the ninety-nine countries with the greatest number of SARS-CoV-2 infections plus the statistics of potential co-morbidities that may influence the severity of the infections. It examines reasons that may underlie of the degree to which advanced age increases the risk of mortality of an infection and contrasts the risk factors of SARS-Cov-2 infections with those of influenzas and their associated pneumonias.