The novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, is an “equal-opportunity virus” says Dr. Cara Tannenbaum, scientific director of the Institute of Gender and Health for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
It seems to infect men and women equally, with about the same number of cases appearing in males and females, according to international data. “If the virus is in anyone, it’s happy to be transmitted to anyone,” Tannenbaum said.
But it seems that the virus might have different effects on male and female bodies. According to new international data analyzed this week by researchers in the BMJ, many more men than women have died as a result of COVID-19, though not all countries broke down their deaths by sex.