I’m glad to hear less about “underlying conditions” these days, because that phrase is just eugenics hiding behind the skirts of statistics. It’s especially pernicious because the proposition that something is “underlying” suggests that it’s hidden, secret, unknown. The idea that someone’s death is acceptable because of some condition that’s unstated or even unknown is dangerous and stupid. For years, health insurers were able to exclude “preexisting” conditions on the basis of earlier documentation, but “underlying” conditions don’t need to be documented — they’re just there, waiting to be discovered when someone dies. Or, if that seems argument seems to posh, try this one: all those twenty-something spring breakers who spread C-19 are much less likely to have “underlying conditions” than older people who contribute something useful to society — so SBs are more likely to get priority. So next time you hear someone plop that phrase out, just say no.