White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx warned that the mortality rate in males is “twice as high” as females, according to early data released from Italy.
“We continue to see signs that, again, individuals under 20, 19, and under, may have severe disease but majority and all have recovered to date,” Birx said. “From Italy, we’re seeing another concerning trend, that the mortality in males seems to be twice in every age group of females.”
The trend follows concerning data out of the European nation hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak. On Wednesday, Birx warned that young people are getting “seriously ill” in Italy, which stands at stark contrast to reports out of China that suggested only the elderly were most severely at risk from the disease.
Italy has struggled to contain the spread of the disease, and on Friday, officials sent the army to the Lombardy region to keep citizens indoors. The pandemic has killed more than 3,000 people in the country.
