These Charts Help Explain Why The Coronavirus Has Been More Deadly In Certain Countries

Abstract: Two leading theories of the differences seen so far have to do with the ages of people who are getting infected, and the fact that the US health care system — for all its failings and inefficiencies — has more critical care beds for the seriously ill. But there is no room for complacency: If the number of new cases builds up too quickly, even US intensive care units will be unable to cope. If there are not enough critical care beds to handle the demand, said Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, a health care think tank in Brookline, Massachusetts, “the best critical care in the world is not going to move the needle.”