Men may be more at risk than women of getting severe symptoms or dying from COVID-19.
COVID-19 does not discriminate in terms of who can be infected, but studies so far indicate that mortality rates are higher among men than women. It is still unclear why there are such stark differences but potential explanations include:
In the countries currently affected, more men smoke than women. Smoking is associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes.
Women and men are of course biologically different. Studies in animals have shown that females may be able to mount stronger immune system responses to the virus.
Source: WHO - Epi Data (Week 13)
Want to know more about COVID-19 and Gender?
Editor’s notes
Author: Sian White
Reviewed by: Jane Wilbur,Bethany Caruso, Pryia Nath, Chelsea Huggett
Last updated: 11.5.2020