More Men Than Women Dying From COVID-19 In Hamilton County

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – In Hamilton County, more women than men have been infected with COVID-19 since the pandemic began more than eight months ago.

Yet, Hamilton County men are dying at a much higher rate than women.

Dr. Michael Czarnecki, a Chattanooga pulmonary specialist who treats long-hauler COVID-19 patients, says this can be attributed to behavioral trends – such as men not wearing masks or washing hands as much as women do.

Another factor, he says, could have to do with genetics.

“The X-chromosome carries more genes for your immune system than the Y-chromosome does. So there’s a hypothesis out there, one of them. That perhaps women have a more robust ability to mount an immune response based upon gender since the X-chromosome does seem to code for – we know this – more of the genes that are more related to the immune system than men do,” says Dr. Michael Czarnecki.

Dr. Czarnecki says that it’s not yet known why men have a much higher mortality rate from COVID-19 compared to women, although he has some theories.

He also stressed that the phenomenon is not unique to Hamilton County.

“This is widespread – it’s not just Hamilton County. Hamilton County is not unique in terms of the case-based mortality. This is a – and I can’t quote the data and say globally although it’s suggestive of it – but the data we have with the United States of America is there is a predominance of higher mortality in men, case-based mortality, than women across the board.”