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Observational Study
. 2020 Dec 11:8:620416.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.620416. eCollection 2020.

Comparison of Deaths Rates for COVID-19 across Europe During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Leonardo Villani  1 , Martin McKee  2 , Fidelia Cascini  1 , Walter Ricciardi  1 , Stefania Boccia  1   3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Comparison of Deaths Rates for COVID-19 across Europe During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Leonardo Villani et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Europe overall suffered greatly in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic but the impact of different countries varied. Italy was in the forefront, but there too there were differences, with the Lombardy region the epicentre of the pandemic. Methods: We report Crude Mortality Rates (CMRs) from deaths reported as due to COVID-19 and, in five countries where age-specific data are available, Standardized Mortality Rates (SMRs) in the European Union and United Kingdom. Results: As of 30th August 2020, Belgium was the country with the highest cumulative CMR (86.3/100,000), but the Lombardy region reached almost double this figure (167.6/100,000), far ahead of the corresponding figure for the rest of Italy at 37.0/100,000. SMRs could be calculated for five countries (Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, and Netherlands). Among them, Sweden had the highest SMR (61.6/100,000). The corresponding figures for Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Germany were 50.2, 41.4, 15.9, and 10.1 per 100,000, respectively. Conclusion: It is clear that countries within Europe have performed very differently in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the many limitations in the available data must be addressed before a definitive assessment of the reasons for these differences can be made.

Keywords: COVID-19; death rates; epidemics; pandemics; standardized mortality rate.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Crude Mortality Rates (A) for COVID-19 in 27 EU Countries plus UK, and Standardized Mortality Rates (B) (×100,000 inhabitants) at August, 2020.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cumulative Crude Mortality Rates (×100,000 inhabitants) for COVID-19 in 27 EU Countries plus UK (A), and Cumulative Standardized Mortality Rates (×100,000 inhabitants) for selected EU Countries (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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