By analogy: most of the deaths from the Spanish flu are believed to have been caused by over-reacting immune systems. Our global response to disease has the potential to cause more damage than the disease itself.
That is not necessarily what is happening—but it is a scenario we should be aware of.
What percent of 70+ year olds that enter a hospital for cold/flu symptoms end up dying? Without knowing that as baseline, it is hard to meaningfully evaluate the covid19 death rate, especially considering that only the seriously ill are tested.
In this study, about 9% of non-elective geriatric patients admitted to a hospital die. https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/34/5/467/40349
In this study, it was closer to 15%. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1807-59322009000700002&...