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.

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.

By August 2024, Cuba had administered the largest number of vaccines against COVID-19 per 100 inhabitants in the Latin American region, followed by Chile and Peru. According to recent estimates, the Caribbean country applied around 410 doses per 100 population, accounting for one of the largest vaccination rates observed not only in the Latin American region, but worldwide. In comparison, Haiti registered the lowest vaccination rate within the region, with only 5.87 doses administered per 100 inhabitants. Booster shots started To reinforce the immune protection against the fast spread of the SARS-CoV-2, governments began to introduce booster shots in their immunization programs aiming at strengthening people’s immune response against new contagious COVID-19 variants. In Latin America, Cuba was leading on booster shots relative to its population among a selection of countries, with around 88 percent of the population receiving the extra dose. In comparison, these numbers are higher than those for the European Union and the United States. Pharmaceutical research continues As Omicron becomes more prominent worldwide, and recombinant variants emerge, research efforts to prevent and control the disease continue to progress. As of June 2022, there were around 2,700 clinical trials to treat COVID-19 and 1,752 COVID-19 vaccines trials in clinical development. Other studies were focused on mild, moderate and severe COVID-19, complication support, and post-COVID symptoms, among others.For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

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.

Conspiracy theories about COVID-19 began to emerge immediately after the first news about the disease and threaten to prolong the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by limiting people’s willingness of receiving a life-saving vaccine. In this context, this study aimed to explore the variation of conspiracy beliefs regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine against it in 5779 people living in 13 Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) according to sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, educational level and source of information about COVID-19. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between September 15 and October 25, 2021. The Spanish-language COVID-19 Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (ECCV-COVID) and a sociodemographic survey were used. The results indicate that, in most countries, women, people with a lower educational level and those who receive information about the vaccine and COVID-19 from family/friends are more supportive of conspiracy ideas regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. In the case of age, the results vary by country. The analysis of the responses to each of the questions of the ECCV-COVID reveals that, in general, the countries evaluated are mostly in some degree of disagreement or indecision regarding conspiratorial beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The findings could help open further study which could support prevention and treatment efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Latin America is one of the regions in which the COVID-19 pandemic has a stronger impact, with more than 72 million reported infections and 1.6 million deaths until June 2022. Since this region is ecologically diverse and is affected by enormous social inequalities, efforts to identify genomic patterns of the circulating SARS-CoV-2 genotypes are necessary for the suitable management of the pandemic. To contribute to the genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 in Latin America, we extended the number of SARS-CoV-2 genomes available from the region by sequencing and analyzing the viral genome from COVID-19 patients from seven countries (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru). Subsequently, we analyzed the genomes circulating mainly during 2021 including records from GISAID database from Latin America. A total of 1,534 genome sequences were generated from seven countries, demonstrating the laboratory and bioinformatics capabilities for genomic surveillance of pathogens that have been developed locally. For Latin America, patterns regarding several variants associated with multiple re-introductions, a relatively low percentage of sequenced samples, as well as an increment in the mutation frequency since the beginning of the pandemic, are in line with worldwide data. Besides, some variants of concern (VOC) and variants of interest (VOI) such as Gamma, Mu and Lambda, and at least 83 other lineages have predominated locally with a country-specific enrichments. This work has contributed to the understanding of the dynamics of the pandemic in Latin America as part of the local and international efforts to achieve timely genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.

As of January 2022, the share of COVID-19 cases corresponding to the Omicron variant in Mexico amounted to over 90 percent of the country's analyzed sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A month earlier, this figure amounted to 60 percent of cases studied in the country. 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 based on its trasmisibility level.

An increasing amount of cases

In Mexico, the spread of the Omicron variant led the Latin American country to reach over 5.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 by March 2022, with the surge of close to two million cases in a matter of four months. Never before since the start of the pandemic had there been so many cases recorded in such a short period of time in the country. During those months, approximately 30 thousand people died due to complications stemming from the disease, reaching 320 thousand deaths by March 2022.

A relatively low testing rate

Within the Latin American region, Mexico was the fourth country with the largest number of people infected, following Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. However, the country is considered to have had a relatively low testing rate. According to recent estimates, around 117 thousand tests per million people were reported in Mexico as of March 2022, one of the lowest COVID-19 testing rates among the countries most affected by the pandemic. In contrast, Peru reached over 836 million tests per million population.

Find the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus pandemic in the world under Statista’s COVID-19 facts and figures site.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused unimaginable damage to public health and socio-economic structures worldwide; thus, an epidemiological depiction of the global evolving trends of this disease is necessary. As of March 31, 2022, the number of cases increased gradually over the four waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating the need for continuous countermeasures. The highest total cases per million and total deaths per million were observed in Europe (240,656.542) and South America (2,912.229), despite these developed countries having higher vaccination rates than other continents, such as Africa. In contrast, the lowest of the above two indices were found in undeveloped African countries, which had the lowest number of vaccinations. These data indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is positively related to the socio-economic development level; meanwhile, the data suggest that the vaccine currently used in these continents cannot completely prevent the spread of COVID-19. Thus, rethinking the feasibility of a single vaccine to control the disease is needed. Although the number of cases in the fourth wave increased exponentially compared to those of the first wave, ~43.1% of deaths were observed during the first wave. This was not only closely linked to multiple factors, including the inadequate preparation for the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gradual reduction in the severity of additional variants, and the protection conferred by prior infection and/or vaccination, but this also indicated the change in the main driving dynamic in the fourth wave. Moreover, at least 12 variants were observed globally, showing a clear spatiotemporal profile, which provides the best explanation for the presence of the four waves of the pandemic. Furthermore, there was a clear shift in the trend from multiple variants driving the spread of disease in the early stage of the pandemic to a single Omicron lineage predominating in the fourth wave. These data suggest that the Omicron variant has an advantage in transmissibility over other contemporary co-circulating variants, demonstrating that monitoring new variants is key to reducing further spread. We recommend that public health measures, along with vaccination and testing, are continually implemented to stop the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper used Our World data for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) death count, test data, stringency, and transmission count and prepared a path model for COVID-19 deaths. We augmented the model with age structure-related variables and comorbidity via non-communicable diseases for 117 countries of the world for September 23, 2021, on a cross-section basis. A broad-based global quantitative study incorporating these two prominent channels with regional variation was unavailable in the existing literature. Old age and comorbidity were identified as two prime determinants of COVID-19 mortality. The path model showed that after controlling for these factors, one SD increase in the proportion of persons above 65, above 70, or of median age raised COVID-19 mortality by more than 0.12 SDs for 117 countries. The regional intensity of death is alarmingly high in South America, Europe, and North America compared with Oceania. After controlling for regions, the figure was raised to 0.213, which was even higher. For old age, the incremental coefficient was the highest for South America (0.564), and Europe (0.314), which were substantially higher than in Oceania. The comorbidity channel via non-communicable diseases illustrated that one SD increase in non-communicable disease intensity increased COVID-19 mortality by 0.132 for the whole sample. The regional figure for the non-communicable disease was 0.594 for South America and 0.358 for Europe compared with the benchmark region Oceania. The results were statistically significant at a 10% level of significance or above. This suggested that we should prioritize vaccinations for the elderly and people with comorbidity via non-communicable diseases like heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes. Further attention should be given to South America and Europe, which are the worst affected regions of the world.

The South American Gypsum Board market is expected to add more than USD 3 Billion from 2024–2029. The COVID-19 pandemic undeniably impacted the South American gypsum board market i

The study began by defining the research question: How did information technologies impact Latin American academic libraries during the period of social isolation?

The tool consists of questions related to technologies, services, users, training of librarians, and finally, questions about their future perspectives. QuestionPro was chosen as the software for information processing.

After a final review of the instrument, a pilot test was carried out resulting in fifteen questionnaires that are being completed by librarians from seven Latin American countries. After asking and developing some more detailed questions, a final version was structured and distributed to a community of librarians who participated in a web seminar called "From Automation to Discovery": Information Technologies in the Academic Library" by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

A total of 1638 participants began the survey of which 1144 were able to complete it. Of these, only the information of 664 participants who are within the category of university academic libraries was analyzed.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the delivery of care for cardiovascular diseases in Latin America. However, the effect of the pandemic on the cardiac diagnostic procedure volumes has not been quantified. Objective To assess (1) the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac diagnostic volumes in Latin America and (2) determine its relationship with COVID-19 case incidence and social distancing measures. Methods The International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey assessing changes in cardiac diagnostic volumes resulting from COVID-19. Cardiac diagnostic volumes were obtained from participating sites for March and April 2020 and compared to March 2019. Social distancing data were collected from Google COVID-19 community mobility reports and COVID-19 incidence per country from the Our World in Data. Results Surveys were conducted in 194 centers performing cardiac diagnostic procedures, in 19 countries in Latin America. Procedure volumes decreased 36% from March 2019 to March 2020, and 82% from March 2019 to April 2020. The greatest decreases occurred in echocardiogram stress tests (91%), exercise treadmill tests (88%), and computed tomography calcium scores (87%), with slight variations between sub-regions of Latin America. Changes in social distancing patterns (p < 0.001) were more strongly associated with volume reduction than COVID-19 incidence (p = 0.003). Conclusions COVID-19 was associated with a significant reduction in cardiac diagnostic procedures in Latin America, which was more related to social distancing than to the COVID-19 incidence. Better balance and timing of social distancing measures and planning to maintain access to medical care is warranted during a pandemic surge, especially in regions with high cardiovascular mortality.

Genome-wide association studies of COVID-19 severity have been carried out mostly on European or East Asian populations with small representation of other world regions. Here we explore the worldwide distribution and linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns of genetic variants previously associated with COVID-19 severity. We followed up the results of a large Spanish genome-wide meta-analysis on 26 populations from the 1000 Genomes Project by calculating allele frequencies and LD scores of the nine most significant SNPs. We also used the entire set of summary statistics to compute polygenic risk scores (PRSs) and carried out comparisons at the population and continental level. We observed the strongest differences among continental regions for the five top SNPs in chromosome 3. European, American, and South Asian populations showed similar LD patterns. Average PRSs in South Asian and American populations were consistently higher than those observed in Europeans. While PRS distributions were similar among South Asians, the American populations showed striking differences among them. Considering the caveats of PRS transferability across ethnicities, our analysis showed that American populations present the highest genetic risk score, hence potentially higher propensity, for COVID-19 severity. Independent validation is warranted with additional summary statistics and phenotype data.

This study examines aggregate crime rates and the spatial distribution of violence against women (VAW) both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explores the influence of socioeconomic and situational factors on these trends. The analysis assesses potential variations across different pandemic phases by addressing the following research questions: (1) Did VAW incident rates change during the different pandemic phases? (2) Did the spatial distribution of VAW incidents per municipality in Colombia change before, during, and after the pandemic? and (3) What key determinants significantly impacted VAW rates during the study period? Given the documented global rise in domestic and intimate partner violence against women during the pandemic, we hypothesized an increase in VAW incidents in Colombia from 2020 to 2022. Furthermore, based on existing literature, we predicted that urban municipalities, poverty, lack of education, coca cultivation, and the presence of non-state armed actors would predict higher VAW at the municipality level. Finally, we expected statistically significant VAW hot spots to remain consistent at the municipality level throughout the pandemic stages, due to persistent underlying risk factors in these areas. The findings revealed a significant post-quarantine decrease in VAW incidents, followed by a significant increase after the economy's gradual reopening in September 2020. Notably, the geographical distribution of VAW remained consistent, with persistent 'hot spot' concentrations in the same areas across all study periods. Furthermore, urbanization and higher general violent crime rates consistently predicted higher VAW rates. Conversely, the presence of armed groups and coca production were significant negative predictors, while education's impact on VAW rates was mixed.

Project Overview This dataset contains all qualitative and quantitative journaling data collected in “The Pandemic Journaling Project, Subproject 1, PJP - Immigrant Women in NYC” (henceforth PJP-IW/NYC). The Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP) is a combined journaling platform and interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research study developed by anthropologists, with support from a team of colleagues and students across the social sciences, humanities, and health fields. PJP launched in Spring 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic was emerging in the United States. It was created in order to “pre-design an archive” of COVID-19 narratives and experiences and was open to anyone around the world with access to a smartphone or computer. PJP ran on a weekly basis for two years (May 2020 - May 2022). The dataset for the first phase of PJP (PJP-1) can be accessed through the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR). (See Related Data field in Metadata.) PJP-IW/NYC used a modified version of the PJP platform to pursue two research objectives: 1) examine the ongoing challenges associated with COVID-19 among immigrant women to the US living in New York City (NYC), and 2) explore the feasibility and efficacy of an online journaling-based project with vulnerable populations. The project focused on two immigrant populations in NYC that were particularly hard-hit by the pandemic: the South Asian and Latinx immigrant communities. The project ran from February to August 2023, and it was underway when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the COVID-19 global health emergency in May 2023. PJP-IW/NYC was approved as a research study by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Connecticut. Eligibility criteria for participation included: 1) identify as an immigrant, 2) identify as a woman, 3) aged 18 years or more, 4) born in a country in South Asia or Latin America, and 5) currently live in NYC. The interface was accessible in English, Bangla (Bengali), and Spanish. Similarly to PJP-1, participants could create journal entries using their choice of text, images, and/or audio recordings. Data and Data Collection Overview This dataset contains all journal entries and closed-ended survey responses submitted as part of the PJP-IW/NYC study, along with accompanying descriptive and explanatory materials. The dataset includes individual journal entries and accompanying quantitative survey responses from a total of 34 participants, of whom 24 are from South Asia and 10 participants from Latin America. Of the 427 journal entries in total (248 from the South Asian sample and 179 from the Latinx sample), 47 included images and 12 were submitted as audio files. Each time a participant created a journal entry, they could choose to submit it as text or by attaching it as an audio file; an image with accompanying text; or an image with an accompanying audio file. All attached files, regardless of format, are cataloged as they were submitted. As a result, one video file has been cataloged with the images. Twenty-nine of the images consist of photos and one video of hand-written journal entries in Bangla. Some entries are labeled as "dup," which denotes that a participant completed a specific survey (e.g., survey 10) more than once. All data were collected via the Qualtrics survey platform. PJP-IW/NYC participants were introduced to the project by local community-based organization (CBO) partners that serve immigrant women from South Asian and/or Latin American countries. Information about the study was also provided on PJP’s website, an archived version of which is also shared here (Project Webpages). Prospective participants received a code from CBO partners that they then used to access the online eligibility screener. Those deemed eligible were invited to read an online information sheet and give their consent. They were then taken directly to the baseline survey and Week 1 journaling prompts. Participants were asked to provide a single piece of contact information — an email address or mobile phone number — which was then used to distribute subsequent bi-weekly invitations to participate over the next six months. This contact information has been stripped from the dataset and is not accessible to researchers. Each bi-weekly invitation to journal included a link to that week’s journaling prompts and, periodically, several accompanying survey questions, which can be found in “Quantitive Survey Questions.” In addition to journaling, the project also included other research methods that generated data. Around Month 3, participants were invited to participate in an in-depth interview about their experiences of life disruptions associated with COVID-19. Interviews centered on shifts in relationships, jobs, and housing, as well as the ongoing impact of such disruptions on participants’ mental health and perceptions of wellbeing. At the end of the project, at Month 6, they were invited to take an exit survey and/or participate...