WHAT PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS IN GENERAL HAVE AN UNDERLYING CONDITION? 73% of Americans Hospitalised With COVID-19 Had an Underlying Condition, Says CDC. No numbers, but there’s this: “The CDC noted that many of the conditions reported by patients are fairly common among Americans in general.”

So maybe this says that the disease mostly just kills people who are already sick. But if “already sick” encompasses things like “former smoker” and “high blood pressure” — under the new guidelines, it’s like 1/3 of the public having high blood pressure — then that’s not much of a comfort.