TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on case fatality rates in a city in Southern Brazil
AU - Passarelli-Araujo, Hisrael
AU - Pott-Junior, Henrique
AU - Susuki, Aline M.
AU - Olak, André S.
AU - Pescim, Rodrigo R.
AU - Tomimatsu, Maria F.A.I.
AU - Volce, Cilio J.
AU - Neves, Maria A.Z.
AU - Silva, Fernanda F.
AU - Narciso, Simone G.
AU - Aschner, Michael
AU - Paoliello, Monica M.B.
AU - Urbano, Mariana R.
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge CAPES for the financial support (scholarship), the City Health Secretary of Londrina for providing the data, and the “Núcleo Interdisciplinar de Gestão Pública (NIGEP) – UEL” coordinated by Professor Vera Suguihiro and Professor Saulo Fabiano Amâncio Vieira.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Background: Recent studies have established that vaccination plays a significant role in reducing COVID-19-related deaths. Here, we investigated differences in COVID-19 case fatality rates (CFRs) among vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, and analyzed whether the age composition of confirmed cases has a significant effect on the variations in the observed CFRs across these groups. Methods: The study considered 59,853 confirmed cases and 1,687 deaths from COVID-19, reported between January 1 to October 20, 2021, by the Health Department of Londrina, a city in Southern Brazil. We used Negative Binomial regression models to estimate CFRs according to vaccination status and age range. Results: There are significant differences between the CFR for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated populations (IRR = 0.596, 95% CI [0.460 - 0.772], P <.001). Vaccinated populations experience fatality rates 40.4% lower than non-vaccinated. In addition, the age composition of confirmed cases explains more than two-thirds of the variation in the CFR between these 2 groups. Conclusions: Our novel findings reinforce the importance of vaccination as an essential public health measure for reducing COVID-19 fatality rates in all age groups. The results also provide means for accurately assessing differences in CFRs across vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Such assessment is essential to inform and determine appropriate containment and mitigation interventions in Brazil and elsewhere.
AB - Background: Recent studies have established that vaccination plays a significant role in reducing COVID-19-related deaths. Here, we investigated differences in COVID-19 case fatality rates (CFRs) among vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, and analyzed whether the age composition of confirmed cases has a significant effect on the variations in the observed CFRs across these groups. Methods: The study considered 59,853 confirmed cases and 1,687 deaths from COVID-19, reported between January 1 to October 20, 2021, by the Health Department of Londrina, a city in Southern Brazil. We used Negative Binomial regression models to estimate CFRs according to vaccination status and age range. Results: There are significant differences between the CFR for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated populations (IRR = 0.596, 95% CI [0.460 - 0.772], P <.001). Vaccinated populations experience fatality rates 40.4% lower than non-vaccinated. In addition, the age composition of confirmed cases explains more than two-thirds of the variation in the CFR between these 2 groups. Conclusions: Our novel findings reinforce the importance of vaccination as an essential public health measure for reducing COVID-19 fatality rates in all age groups. The results also provide means for accurately assessing differences in CFRs across vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Such assessment is essential to inform and determine appropriate containment and mitigation interventions in Brazil and elsewhere.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Demography
KW - Public health
KW - Vaccination
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.02.015
DO - 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.02.015
M3 - Article
C2 - 35192917
AN - SCOPUS:85127335123
SN - 0196-6553
VL - 50
SP - 491
EP - 496
JO - American Journal of Infection Control
JF - American Journal of Infection Control
IS - 5
ER -
