General data suggest that people who dying of Covid-19 tend to be very seriously ill with life-threatening diseases before getting the virus.
That is a misconception or even misinformation. Around (depending on which study you read) 90% of Covid deaths are people with
pre-existing conditions - this does
not equate to "seriously ill with life-threatening diseases". Nor does it equate to "were going to die soon anyway" (as has been often said) - the excess deaths stats should be proof enough of that.
I have a couple of pre-existing conditions, some of which might in fact (I think) preclude Class 1 Medical (I have never tried to get one, was told years ago that my eyesight wasn't good enough to fly anyway),
however I am not seriously ill, nor are the diseases life-threatening unless left unmanaged/untreated. According to the doctors most patients live with what I've got for more decades than I likely have left anyway, I am most likely to die with the diseases not of them. Those same doctors have also placed me in the highest risk "shielding" category when it comes to Covid.
More generally, you need to look at what is a "
pre-existing condition", some commonly considered ones are:
* diabetes
* hypertension
* obesity
* asthma
* dementia and alzheimer's
* ischemic heart disease
Not all of those preclude a Class 1 (most of them don't, I think).
A quick look at population prevalence rates (looking at UK at least) tells you that
most people (especially if you look at over 30 or over 40) actually
have a "pre-existing condition", so it isn't surprising that most people dying of Covid also have a pre-existing condition. Age remains the biggest risk factor, but then it is surely also the biggest risk factor for dying anyway...