Neil Hall/EPA April 30, 2020 Coronavirus: patterns of illness and death mainly mirror what was already happening before the pandemic K. Marie McIntyre, University of Liverpool; Grace Patterson, University of Liverpool; Helen Clough, University of Liverpool; John Harris, University of Liverpool, and Jonathan Rushton, University of Liverpool COVID-19 is a disease of the sick, which is why it appears to be a disease of the old and the male.