Even though, the virus in the book isn't 100% similar to covid-19.. maybe the source is not the same as mentioned(or maybe it is, who knows?). But that paragraph from the book that's gone viral has some mentions which have a lot of similarities the the pandemic. It mentions the correct year, the correct place of origin, and it also mentions that it'll affect the respiratory organs of humans. This much similarity, even if written down in fiction, comes to life after 39 years of writing , is obviously going to catch the eye of the masses. No one's calling the writer a psychic and no one believes that he knew at that time that this was gonna one true. It's just that it's shocking and appealing to everyone .