As of July 18, 2022, Omicron was the most prevalent variant of COVID-19 sequenced in Brazil. By that time, the share of COVID-19 cases corresponding to the Omicron BA.5 variant amounted to around 73.74 percent of the country's analyzed sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A month earlier this figure was equal to about 33 percent of the cases studied in Brazil. The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 - the virus causing COVID-19 - was designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization in November 2021. Since then, it has been rapidly spreading, causing an unprecedented increase in the amount of cases reported worldwide. Find the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus pandemic in the world under Statista’s COVID-19 facts and figures site.

As of July 2023, the Omicron variant was the most prevalent among selected countries in Latin America. The share of COVID-19 cases corresponding to the Omicron variant amounted to 100 percent of the analyzed sequences of SARS-CoV-2 in Colombia. The variant Omicron (XBB.1.5) accounted for nearly 81 percent of the sequenced cases in the country, while Omicron (XBB.1.9) added up to 14 percent. Similarly, Peru reported over 90 percent of its reviewed sequences corresponding to the variant Omicron (XBB.1.5), while Omicron (XBB) accounted for around 2.4 percent of cases studied. A regional overview The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 - the virus causing COVID-19 - was designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization in November 2021. Since then, it has been rapidly spreading, causing an unprecedented increase in the number of cases reported worldwide. In Latin America, Brazil had been the most affected country by the disease already before the emergence of the Omicron variant, with nearly 37.4 million cases and around 701,494 confirmed deaths as of May 2, 2023. However, it is Peru that has the largest mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants due to the SARS-Cov-2 in the region, with roughly 672 deaths per 100,000 people. Vaccination campaigns in Latin America As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause social and economic harm worldwide, most Latin American and Caribbean countries advance their immunization programs. As of August 14, 2023, Brazil had administered the largest number of vaccines in the region, with over 486.4 million doses. Mexico and Argentina followed, with about 223.1 million and 116 million COVID-19 doses administered, respectively. However, Cuba had the highest vaccination rate not only in the region, but also the world, with around 391 vaccines given per 100 people.Find the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus pandemic in the world under Statista’s COVID-19 facts and figures site.

IntroductionAfter three years since the beginning of the pandemic, the new coronavirus continues to raise several questions regarding its infectious process and host response. Several mutations occurred in different regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, such as in the spike gene, causing the emergence of variants of concern and interest (VOCs and VOIs), of which some present higher transmissibility and virulence, especially among patients with previous comorbidities. It is essential to understand its spread dynamics to prevent and control new biological threats that may occur in the future. In this population_based retrospective observational study, we generated data and used public databases to understand SARS-CoV-2 dynamics.MethodsWe sequenced 1,003 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from naso-oropharyngeal swabs and saliva samples from Pará from May 2020 to October 2022. To gather epidemiological data from Brazil and the world, we used FIOCRUZ and GISAID databases.ResultsRegarding our samples, 496 (49.45%) were derived from female participants and 507 (50.55%) from male participants, and the average age was 43  years old. The Gamma variant presented the highest number of cases, with 290 (28.91%) cases, followed by delta with 53 (5.28%). Moreover, we found seven (0.69%) Omicron cases and 651 (64.9%) non-VOC cases. A significant association was observed between sex and the clinical condition (female, p = 8.65e-08; male, p = 0.008961) and age (p = 3.6e-10).DiscussionAlthough gamma had been officially identified only in December 2020/January 2021, we identified a gamma case from Belém (capital of Pará State) dated May 2020 and three other cases in October 2020. This indicates that this variant was circulating in the North region of Brazil several months before its formal identification and that Gamma demonstrated its actual transmission capacity only at the end of 2020. Furthermore, the public data analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2 dispersion dynamics differed in Brazil as Gamma played an important role here, while most other countries reported a new infection caused by the Delta variant. The genetic and epidemiological information of this study reinforces the relevance of having a robust genomic surveillance service that allows better management of the pandemic and that provides efficient solutions to possible new disease-causing agents.

Brazil is the Latin American country affected the most by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 2025, the country had reported around 38 million cases. It was followed by Argentina, with approximately ten million confirmed cases of COVID-19. In total, the region had registered more than 83 million diagnosed patients, as well as a growing number of fatal COVID-19 cases. The research marathon Normally, the development of vaccines takes years of research and testing until options are available to the general public. However, with an alarming and threatening situation as that of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists quickly got on board in a vaccine marathon to develop a safe and effective way to prevent and control the spread of the virus in record time. Over two years after the first cases were reported, the world had around 1,521 drugs and vaccines targeting the COVID-19 disease. As of June 2022, a total of 39 candidates were already launched and countries all over the world had started negotiations and acquisition of the vaccine, along with immunization campaigns. COVID vaccination rates in Latin America As immunization against the spread of the disease continues to progress, regional disparities in vaccination coverage persist. While Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico were among the Latin American nations with the most COVID-19 cases, those that administered the highest number of COVID-19 doses per 100 population are Cuba, Chile, and Peru. Leading the vaccination coverage in the region is the Caribbean nation, with more than 406 COVID-19 vaccines administered per every 100 inhabitants as of January 5, 2024.For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

ABSTRACT Background: An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant was detected in the psychiatric ward of a general hospital in Brasília, Brazil. Methods: We report the investigation, clinical outcomes, viral sequencing, and control measures applied to outbreak containment. Results: The overall attack rate was 95% (23/24) in a period of 13 days. Among the cases, 78% (18/23) were vaccinated and 17% (4/23) required intensive care. The Omicron variant was isolated from the 19 sequenced samples. Conclusions: The findings highlight the potential harm that highly transmissible variants may generate among hospitalized populations, particularly those with comorbidities.

Since the first reported case in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 infections have become a major public health worldwide. Even with the increasing vaccination in several countries and relaxing of social distancing measures, the pandemic remains a threat especially due to the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Despite the presence of an enzyme capable of proofreading its genome, high rates of replication provide a source of accumulation of mutations within the viral genome. In this retrospective study, samples from a cohort of industry workers tested by the SESI’s COVID-19 mass testing program from September 2020 to May 2021 were analyzed using a mutation panel in order to describe the circulation of currently identified SARS-CoV-2 variants within the samples obtained in Rio de Janeiro State. Our results demonstrated that the variant of interest (VOI) Zeta has been in circulation since October 2020 and reached 87% of prevalence in February 2021 followed by a decrease due to the emergence of Gamma variant of concern (VOC). Gamma was detected in January 2021 in our studied population, and its prevalence increased during the following months, reaching absolute prevalence within positive samples in May. The Alpha variant was detected only in 4–7% of samples during March and April while Beta VOC was not detected in our study. Our data agree with sequencing genomic surveillance databases and highlight the importance of continuous mass testing programs and variant detection in order to control viral spread and guide public health measures.

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic had a widespread global impact and presented numerous challenges. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has changed transmission rates and immune evasion, possibly impacting the severity. This study aims to investigate the impact of variants on clinical outcomes in southern Brazil.MethodsIn total, samples from 277 patients, hospitalized and non-hospitalized, were collected between March 2020 and March 2021, before the vaccine was made widely available to the general population in Brazil. Whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 was performed and bioinformatics and biostatistics analyses were implemented on molecular and clinical data, respectively.ResultsThe study identified significant demographic and clinical differences. The hospitalized group exhibited a higher proportion of males (51.9%) and an increased prevalence of comorbidities, including hypertension (66.0%), obesity (42.6%), and chronic kidney disease (23.6%). Patients were identified with twelve SARS-CoV-2 strains, predominantly B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33 in the early 2020 first wave, and P.1 overlapping in the late 2020 and early 2021 second wave of COVID-19. Significant differences in hospitalization rates were found among patients infected with the different SARS-CoV-2 lineages: B.1.1.33 (46.0%), B.1.1.28 (65.9%), and P.1 (97.9%). Severity markers, such as pneumonia (62.5%, p=0.002), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, 72.9%, p6 L/min O2 (64.6%, p

The excess of monthly deaths by state in Brazil, mainly in 2021, point to an unprecedented mortuary catastrophe in Brazil How has the government of Brazil acted and has acted to protect its citizens from the most important, intense and deadly event of all time, in these 521 years of Brazilian history? How great is the risk of death that its inhabitants are facing, is it possible to measure and compare with other similar human beings, but who have different governments? Can we really measure, based on scientific, safe and verified data, the performance, willingness and result of actions and even the examples that the federal government of Brazil promoted in 18 months of the years 2020 and 2021? YES, we can ! Fortunately, in this era of free and unquestionable virtual environments, it is possible to develop reliable and fast ways to search, classify, verify, index, compare and publish known health epidemiological indices of human health! The internet and the Dataverse of the Harvard School allowed, not only scientists and physicians, as any being on Earth, to consult, understand and compare results that will remain available for generations, between the past and the present, but also between countries, as in this set we deal with the safest and most important health index, we show absolute numbers of deaths and births... All the most used epidemiological variables of birth and mortality per month in Brazil, from January 2014 to June 2021, by state, country and 2 large groups of states (based on a single criterion - votes Bolsonaro 1st round 2018 > 50%) All most used epidemiological variables from mortality per month in Brazil , Jan-2015 to Jun-2021, per state and country We show the death rate, number of net deaths, excess deaths, births, birth rate, annual growth rate, growth rate variation, P-score, excess mortality rate by months by state (UF), percentage of seniors over 70 years old from January 2014 to June 2021

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has mutated. Variants from the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa were identified. These variants of the coronavirus (COVID-19) also reached France and appeared more virulent in some regions. As of June 6, 2021, around 75 percent of positive PCR tests detected the British variant.

Peru is the country with the highest mortality rate due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Latin America. As of November 13, 2023, the country registered over 672 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. It was followed by Brazil, with around 331.5 fatal cases per 100,000 population. In total, over 1.76 million people have died due to COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Are these figures accurate? Although countries like Brazil already rank among the countries most affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there is still room to believe that the number of cases and deaths in Latin American countries are underreported. The main reason is the relatively low number of tests performed in the region. For example, Brazil, one of the most impacted countries in the world, has performed approximately 63.7 million tests as of December 22, 2022. This compared with over one billion tests performed in the United States, approximately 909 million tests completed in India, or around 522 million tests carried out in the United Kingdom.

Capacity to deal with the outbreak With the spread of the Omicron variant, the COVID-19 pandemic is putting health systems around the world under serious pressure. The lack of equipment to treat acute cases, for instance, is one of the problems affecting Latin American countries. In 2019, the number of ventilators in hospitals in the most affected countries ranged from 25.23 per 100,000 inhabitants in Brazil to 5.12 per 100,000 people in Peru.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

BackgroundEffective and safe vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are critical to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and will remain the most important tool in limiting the spread of the virus long after the pandemic is over.MethodsWe bring pioneering contributions on the maintenance of the immune response over a year on a real-life basis study in 1,587 individuals (18-90 yrs, median 39 yrs; 1,208 female/379 male) who underwent vaccination with two doses of CoronaVac and BNT162b2 booster after 6-months of primary protocol.FindingsElevated levels of anti-spike IgG antibodies were detected after CoronaVac vaccination, which significantly decreased after 80 days and remained stable until the introduction of the booster dose. Heterologous booster restored antibody titers up to-1·7-fold, changing overall seropositivity to 96%. Titers of neutralising antibodies to the Omicron variant were lower in all timepoints than those against Delta variant. Individuals presenting neutralising antibodies against Omicron also presented the highest titers against Delta and anti-Spike IgG. Cellular immune response measurement pointed out a mixed immune profile with a robust release of chemokines, cytokines, and growth factors on the first month after CoronaVac vaccination followed by a gradual reduction over time and no increase after the booster dose. A stronger interaction between those mediators was noted over time. Prior exposure to the virus leaded to a more robust cellular immune response and a rise in antibody levels 60 days post CoronaVac than in individuals with no previous COVID-19. Both vaccines were safe and well tolerated among individuals.InterpretationOur data approach the effectiveness of CoronaVac association with BNT162b2 from the clinical and biological perspectives, aspects that have important implications for informing decisions about vaccine boosters.FundingFiocruz, Brazil.

Based on a comparison of coronavirus deaths in 210 countries relative to their population, Peru had the most losses to COVID-19 up until July 13, 2022. As of the same date, the virus had infected over 557.8 million people worldwide, and the number of deaths had totaled more than 6.3 million. Note, however, that COVID-19 test rates can vary per country. Additionally, big differences show up between countries when combining the number of deaths against confirmed COVID-19 cases. The source seemingly does not differentiate between "the Wuhan strain" (2019-nCOV) of COVID-19, "the Kent mutation" (B.1.1.7) that appeared in the UK in late 2020, the 2021 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) from India or the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) from South Africa.

The difficulties of death figures

This table aims to provide a complete picture on the topic, but it very much relies on data that has become more difficult to compare. As the coronavirus pandemic developed across the world, countries already used different methods to count fatalities, and they sometimes changed them during the course of the pandemic. On April 16, for example, the Chinese city of Wuhan added a 50 percent increase in their death figures to account for community deaths. These deaths occurred outside of hospitals and went unaccounted for so far. The state of New York did something similar two days before, revising their figures with 3,700 new deaths as they started to include “assumed” coronavirus victims. The United Kingdom started counting deaths in care homes and private households on April 29, adjusting their number with about 5,000 new deaths (which were corrected lowered again by the same amount on August 18). This makes an already difficult comparison even more difficult. Belgium, for example, counts suspected coronavirus deaths in their figures, whereas other countries have not done that (yet). This means two things. First, it could have a big impact on both current as well as future figures. On April 16 already, UK health experts stated that if their numbers were corrected for community deaths like in Wuhan, the UK number would change from 205 to “above 300”. This is exactly what happened two weeks later. Second, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which countries already have “revised” numbers (like Belgium, Wuhan or New York) and which ones do not. One work-around could be to look at (freely accessible) timelines that track the reported daily increase of deaths in certain countries. Several of these are available on our platform, such as for Belgium, Italy and Sweden. A sudden large increase might be an indicator that the domestic sources changed their methodology.

Where are these numbers coming from?

The numbers shown here were collected by Johns Hopkins University, a source that manually checks the data with domestic health authorities. For the majority of countries, this is from national authorities. In some cases, like China, the United States, Canada or Australia, city reports or other various state authorities were consulted. In this statistic, these separately reported numbers were put together. For more information or other freely accessible content, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

As of May 2, 2023, there were roughly 687 million global cases of COVID-19. Around 660 million people had recovered from the disease, while there had been almost 6.87 million deaths. The United States, India, and Brazil have been among the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.

The various types of human coronavirus The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the seventh known coronavirus to infect humans. Its emergence makes it the third in recent years to cause widespread infectious disease following the viruses responsible for SARS and MERS. A continual problem is that viruses naturally mutate as they attempt to survive. Notable new variants of SARS-CoV-2 were first identified in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil. Variants are of particular interest because they are associated with increased transmission.

Vaccination campaigns Common human coronaviruses typically cause mild symptoms such as a cough or a cold, but the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to more severe respiratory illnesses and deaths worldwide. Several COVID-19 vaccines have now been approved and are being used around the world.

This is the database of patients hospitalized with covid-19 in the state of Amazonas between March 2020 and February 2021

The Infectious Disease Point-of-care (POC) Diagnostics Market size was valued at USD 15.81 USD Billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 24.57 USD Billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.5 % during the forecast period. Recent developments include: January 2023 - Cipla Inc. launched a point-of-care testing device, Cippoint. The device is CE IVD-approved and helps diagnose non-communicable and infectious diseases., February 2022 - Trinity Biotech received approval for its TrinScreen HIV, an HIV screening product, from the World Health Organization (WHO). It is a rapid test providing results in less than 12 minutes from a finger stick drop of blood., October 2021 – Hologic, Inc. announced the launch of the Aptima SARS-CoV-2/Flu Assay, a multiplex COVID-19/flu test, in North America and Europe to detect three respiratory viruses SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and influenza B., April 2021 – Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. announced the launch of the rapid point-of-care COVID-19 /Flu A&B test. The test provides results within 15 minutes., March 2021 – Roche announced the launch of Cobas SARS-CoV-2 Variant Set 1 Test. This test was developed to detect the COVID-19 variants found in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil.. Key drivers for this market are: Introduction of Cost-effective Manufacturing Processes to Drive Market Growth. Potential restraints include: Lack of Accuracy Associated with Point-of-care Diagnostics Tests to Reduce Product Adoption . Notable trends are: Increasing Number of Hospitals and ASCs Identified as Significant Market Trend.

The year of 2021 was marked by the emergence and dispersal of a number of SARS-CoV-2 lineages, resulting in the “third wave” of COVID-19 in several countries despite the level of vaccine coverage. Soon after the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 by the Delta variant in Brazil, at least seven Delta sub-lineages emerged, including the globally spread AY.101 and AY.99.2. In this study we performed a detailed analysis of the COVID-19 scenario in Brazil from April to December 2021 by using data collected by the largest private medical diagnostic company in Latin America (Dasa), and SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences generated by its SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance project (GENOV). For phylogenetic and Bayesian analysis, SARS-CoV-2 genomes available at GISAID public database were also retrieved. We confirmed that the Brazilian AY.99.2 and AY.101 were the most prevalent lineages during this period, overpassing the Gamma variant in July/August. We also estimated that AY.99.2 likely emerged a few weeks after the entry of the B.1.617.2 in the country, at some point between late April and May and rapidly spread to other countries. Despite no increased fitness described for the AY.99.2 lineage, a rapid shift in the composition of Delta SARS-CoV-2 lineages prevalence in Brazil took place. Understanding the reasons leading the AY.99.2 to become the dominant lineage in the country is important to understand the process of lineage competitions that may inform future control measures.

These are the supplementary files and scripts used in the the manuscript "Phylodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spread in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, highlights how metropolitan areas act as dispersal hubs for new variants"

Abstract
During the first semester of 2021, all of Brazil has suffered an intense wave of COVID-19 associated with the Gamma variant. In July, the first cases of Delta variant were detected in the state of Rio de Janeiro. In this work, we have employed phylodynamic methods to analyze more than 1,600 genomic sequences of Delta variant collected until September in Rio de Janeiro to reconstruct how this variant has surpassed Gamma and dispersed throughout the state. After the introduction of Delta, it has initially spread mostly in the homonymous city of Rio de Janeiro, the most populous of the state. In a second stage, dispersal occurred to mid- and long-range cities, which acted as new close-range hubs for spread. We observed that the substitution of Gamma by Delta was possibly caused by its higher viral load, a proxy for transmissibility. This variant turnover prompted a new surge in cases, but with lower lethality than was observed during the peak caused by Gamma. We reason that high vaccination rates in the state of Rio de Janeiro were possibly what prevented a higher number of deaths.

In early 2021, Brazil saw a dramatic recurrence in Covid-19 cases associated to the spread of a novel variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the P1 variant. In light of previous reports showing that this variant is more transmissible and more likely to infect people who had recovered from previous infection, a retrospective analysis was conducted to assess if the early 2021 Covid-19 wave in Brazil was associated with an increase in the number of individuals presenting with a more severe clinical course. Fifty-one thousand and fourteen individuals who underwent telemedicine consultations were divided into two groups: patients seen on or before January 31, 2021, and on or after February 1, 2021. These dates were chosen based on the spread of the P1 variant in Brazil. Referral to the emergency department (ED) was used as a marker of a more severe course of the disease. No differences were seen in the proportion of patients referred to the ED in each group nor in the odds ratio of being referred to the ED from the 1st of February 2021 (OR=0.909; 95%CI: 0.81-1.01). Considering the entire cohort, age had an impact on the odds of being referred to the ED, with individuals older than 59 years showing twice the risk of the remaining population and those less than 19 years showing a lower risk.

The emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to extra caution in workplaces to avoid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In the occupational environment, SARS-CoV-2 testing is a powerful approach in providing valuable information to detect, monitor, and mitigate the spread of the virus and preserve productivity. Here a centralized Occupational Health Center provided molecular diagnosis and genomic sequences for companies and industries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From May to August 2021, around 20% of the SARS-CoV-2 positive nasopharyngeal swabs from routinely tested workers were sequenced and reproduced the replacement of Gamma with Delta variant observed in regular surveillance programs. Moreover, as a proof-of-concept on the sensibility of the occupational health genomic surveillance program described here, it was also found: i) the primo-identification of B.1.139 and A.2.5 viral genomes in Brazil and ii) an improved dating of Delta VoC evolution, by identifying earlier cases associated with AY-related genomes. We interpret that SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing of workers, independent of symptom presentation, provides an earlier opportunity to identify variants. Thus, considering the continuous monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in workplaces, positive samples from occupation health programs should be regarded as essential to improve the knowledge on virus genetic diversity and VoC emergence.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need for epidemiological monitoring using diverse strategies. We conducted a project combining prevalence, seroprevalence, and genomic surveillance approaches to describe the initial pandemic stages in Betim City, Brazil. We collected 3239 subjects in a population-based age-, sex- and neighborhood-stratified, household, prospective; cross-sectional study divided into three surveys 21 days apart sampling the same geographical area. In the first survey, overall prevalence (participants positive in serological or molecular tests) reached 0.46% (90% CI 0.12–0.80%), followed by 2.69% (90% CI 1.88–3.49%) in the second survey and 6.67% (90% CI 5.42–7.92%) in the third. The underreporting reached 11, 19.6, and 20.4 times in each survey. We observed increased odds to test positive in females compared to males (OR 1.88 95% CI 1.25–2.82), while the single best predictor for positivity was ageusia/anosmia (OR 8.12, 95% CI 4.72–13.98). Thirty-five SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced, of which 18 were classified as lineage B.1.1.28, while 17 were B.1.1.33. Multiple independent viral introductions were observed. Integration of multiple epidemiological strategies was able to adequately describe COVID-19 dispersion in the city. Presented results have helped local government authorities to guide pandemic management.