The coronavirus pandemic has increased regional disparities in mortality, hitting the most vulnerable Czech regions which were already struggling before the crisis, the hardest, according to research by scientists from the SYRI National Institute, just published in the scientific journal Applied Geography.
The highest mortality rate was thus recorded in north-western Bohemia and eastern Moravia, while large cities such as Prague and Brno fared best.
The structure of the population plays a major role, as well as the acceptance or non-acceptance of preventive health measures, specifically vaccination, according to the study authors.
The first cases of infection with SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, were detected in the Czech Republic five years ago, reported by the Health Ministry on 1 March 2020.
The average pre-pandemic two-year mortality rate from 2018 to 2019 in the Czech Republic was 13.66 deaths per 1,000 population. During the pandemic years 2020 to 2021, this rate increased to 15.88 per 1,000 population, an increase of 16.2%.
“The results confirmed the widening of regional disparities during the health crisis, with the most vulnerable regions being the hardest hit. Thus, regional differences in mortality increased,” said Pavlina Netrdova from SYRI and the Faculty of Science of Charles University.
The scientists found the second group of heavily affected districts in the eastern part of Moravia. Given that mortality rates in these districts were around the national average before the pandemic, attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine had played a major role, the researchers said.
“Our findings reveal significant effects on regional health outcomes which are crucial for identifying vulnerable and high-risk regions, thereby facilitating effective district-level planning and policy responses,” said co-author Klara Hulikova Tesarkova.
According to the researchers, the conclusions provide evidence that may serve as a crucial basis for effective decision-making in the event of future health crises. Prevention can be targeted at vulnerable populations or specific vaccination campaigns. Going forward, the results also suggest the need to work with regional differences, they concluded.
Since the first cases of COVID-19 emerged five years ago, the disease has been proven in more than 4.8 million cases, of which fewer than 10% were reinfections, according to statistics from the Health Ministry. Some 43,860 people have died in the country since the novel coronavirus was first identified.
