Mortality from COVID-19 in the Northeast region of Brazil between 2020 and 2021: an ecological study

Abstract

Introduction: The pandemic of COVID-19 was responsible for a significant number of deaths worldwide. In Brazil, the country reached the third place in the world ranking in number of cases in a short period of time. The northeast region in turn has high incidence and mortality rates. Objective: To analyze the mortality from COVID-19 in the Northeast region of Brazil between the years 2020 and 2021. Methodology: This is an ecological, retrospective study with a quantitative approach, using secondary data available at the Civil Registry Transparency Portal, considering the records of the Epidemiological Weeks (SE). The variables were included: quantity of deaths, sex, age group, states and epidemiological week. Results: It was observed the occurrence of two sharp peaks of deaths during the SE 18th and 30th and 7th and 25th, in the years 2020 and 2021, respectively. The state of Ceara maintained the highest rates in the two curves, followed by Paraiba and Sergipe. As for the age bracket, the elderly population was more affected and male deaths prevailed. Conclusions: The data showed the magnitude of the pandemic in the northeast region, providing information to support possible health measures by the competent authorities.

Keywords: Covid-19; Northeast Region; Mortality.