Hypothesis:

The part of human nature that predisposes us to belief in gods (ToM and HADD, etc.) is also responsible for predisposing us to belief in malevolent intent on the part of an unseen or vaguely defined group of humans (others) who are assumed to be the cause of problems which are in fact just the result of natural, non-human phenomena, like pandemics.

We want to assign agency to everything, and we derive comfort from assigning blame. Taking full emotional responsibility for our own discomfort is just too much to bear.