Abstract
As of mid-August 2020, Brazil was the country with the second-highest number of cases and deaths by the COVID-19 pandemic, but with large regional and social differences. In this study, using data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health, we analyze the spatial patterns of infection and mortality from Covid-19 across small areas of Brazil. We apply spatial autoregressive Bayesian models and estimate the risks of infection and mortality, taking into account age, sex composition of the population and other variables that describe the health situation of the spatial units. We also perform a decomposition analysis to study how age composition impacts the differences in mortality and infection rates across regions. Our results indicate that death and infections are spatially distributed, forming clusters and hotspots, especially in the Northern Amazon, Northeast coast and Southeast of the country. The high mortality risk in the Southeast part of the country, where the major cities are located, can be explained by the high proportion of the elderly in the population. In the less developed areas of the North and Northeast, there are high rates of infection among young adults, people of lower socioeconomic status, and people without access to health care, resulting in more deaths.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a challenge that is capable of impacting public health in all countries of the world with outcomes hitherto unimaginable
Noronha et al [19] show that the number of health care beds in Brazil is about half of what is observed in OECD countries
On average, the relative risks for all the microregions are below one unit across the age groups, the Fig 1 reveals that from the 40–44 age group on, there are several regions standing as outliers, where the risks are above one, and this is more pronounced for individuals aged 80 years and above
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a challenge that is capable of impacting public health in all countries of the world with outcomes hitherto unimaginable. For several reasons, including political and economic reasons, some countries, like Brazil, have faced additional difficulties in controlling the pandemic. Brazil has become the new epicenter of this disease [1] as a result of the actions of many local authorities who disregarded WHO recommendations and did not implement strong measures such as population isolation, mask wearing, testing and contact tracing [2,3,4]. Brazil is characterized by large regional and socioeconomic disparities and high levels of inequality in access to health services.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
