Lethality and mortality of COVID-19 in an important industrial center in Latin America, region of Grande ABC, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: the new coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has been causing economic and health system impacts worldwide, triggering humanitarian crises in vulnerable regions, marked by high mortality rates of the disease. Brazil has been suffering an increase in the number of cases, characteristic of the formation of a second wave, with great epidemiological differences observed in the most diverse regions of the country. Many studies illustrate the behaviour of COVID-19 in the state of São Paulo, but there are gaps in the scientific literature on the epidemiology of COVID-19 in municipalities of the São Paulo metropolitan region that constitute an important industrial pole in Latin America, such as the region of Grande ABC. Objective: to evaluate mortality and lethality trends of COVID-19 during the period March 2020 to July 2021, in municipalities on region of Grande ABC, metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil, divided into two periods (March to November 2020 and December to July 2021). Methods: we conducted an ecological time series study with population data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health. We collected the number of cases and deaths confirmed for COVID-19 in the municipalities that make up the region of Grande ABC (Diadema, Mauá, Rio Grande da Serra, Ribeirão Pires, Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano do Sul) from March 2020 to July 2021. Prais-Winsten linear regression was performed, and the percentage of daily change was calculated. Differences were considered significant when p<0.05. Results: in region of Grande ABC, in the period analysed, 217,264 cases and 10,004 deaths of COVID-19 were recorded. Although the mortality rate remained stationary during the first wave (March to November 2020) and the second wave (December 2020 to July 2021); lethality transitioned from decreasing during the first wave to increasing during the second wave, with rates varying according to municipality. Conclusion: trend analyses in incidence, mortality, and lethality rates assist in understanding the behaviour of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the region known as Grande ABC. Efforts must be maintained throughout the region to control the Pandemic.