Socio-spatial inequalities in COVID-19 mortality in the three waves: an intraurban analysis in Argentina

The study aimed to analyze the socio-spatial differences in COVID-19 mortality in the pandemic’s three waves in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. COVID-19 mortality data were obtained from the COVID-19 Database and reported by the Buenos Aires Autonomous Government from March 7, 2020, to September 30, 2021. Three waves were identified: the first from March to December 2020, the second from December 2020 to March 2021, and the third from March to September 2021. Multivariate regressions were calculated for each wave to analyze the association between risk of COVID-19 mortality in two age groups (0-59 years and 60 years or older) and the percentage of households with unmet basic needs as indicator of neighborhood poverty level, and population density. During the first wave and in both age groups, the neighborhood in the tertile with the highest percentages of households with unmet basic needs showed higher risk of COVID-19 mortality when compared to neighborhoods in the tertile with the lowest percentages of households with unmet basic needs. These inequalities disappeared in the second wave in both age groups, while the third wave saw a similar geographic pattern to the first wave. Higher levels of immunity in neighborhoods with high poverty levels might partially explain the absence of socio-spatial inequalities in the second wave, while the emergence of the gamma and lambda variants could partially explain the return to inequalities observed in the first wave.

Keywords:
COVID-19; Mortality; Socioeconomic Factors; Spatial Analysis