It's largely called SARS-CoV-2 because, surprise, it's in the coronavirus family that causes SARS. Yes, it is a respiratory disease, but what we've learned in t

It's largely called SARS-CoV-2 because, surprise, it's in the coronavirus family that causes SARS. Yes, it is a respiratory disease, but what we've learned in the last year is that the worst respiratory effects from this disease aren't from it infecting pneumocytes (that's how it spreads) but from the emboli that it creates which then block the vasculature of the lungs. I'd suggest this lecture by Dr. Seheult of MedCram which dates back to around the time we started discoverying the concerning underlying pathologies of the disease process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlUFibXtDxQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlUFibXtDxQ This is also one of the possible explanations for the appearances of rash-like lesions in the extremities of younger populations who are otherwise asymptomatic: Capillary vasculature becoming blocked by the formation of emboli creating a redness in the skin is another feature of a disease that is primarily vascular in nature. Not to mention the increased risk of stroke. The correct answer is that it's "kind of both" but that the damaging effects from SARS-CoV-2 are less a consequence of destruction of lung cells, as was originally thought, and more a function of blocking the vasculature that carry away oxygen.