s Peru the country with the highest mortality rate in the world?: A situational analysis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has officially caused more than 6,9 million deaths worldwide as of May 2022; However, this figure is three times below the excess deaths for the same period. Peru, as of August 14, 2022, has the highest mortality rate in the world. This is because it corrected COVID-19 deaths, incorporating excess mortality on May 31, 2021, going from 70 000 deaths to 180 000. The number of cases in poorer countries is lower than in higher-income countries, however, the case fatality rate (deaths/cases* thousand) is higher. The greater severity of infection in poorer countries is due to inequality in health services and lower vaccination coverage. After the first case of COVID-19, presented in March 2020 in Peru, four waves with different intensities and amplitudes have occurred. The most intense, but less extensive was the third wave and, currently, we are in the finals of the fourth wave. The highest number of deaths are seen in the first and second waves and is much lower in the third and fourth waves, where cases were higher. In Peru, the vaccine has been applied since February 9, 2021. On that day, the COVID-19 vaccine from the Chinese laboratory Sinopharm was administered to 3 842 people. From there, the vaccines used in Peru corresponded to the laboratories Sinopharm, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen. Currently, there are people, particularly health personnel and elders, who have already received a fourth dose. This review also analyses the influence of crowds, life in high-altitude areas, chronological age, environmental pollution, medication and self-medication on the severity of COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic, life expectancy in Latin America has been reduced by two years. In conclusion, Peru has made its deaths from COVID-19 based on calculations of excess mortality, which should be done in the other countries of the region to determine the real magnitude of the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean and explain the factors that determine it in each country. Therefore, it is not acceptable to say that Peru has the highest mortality rate in the world. In Peru as in other parts of the world, adults account for about 87% of deaths and government programs must prioritize this age group to try to reduce their high mortality rate.