International Journal of Infectious Diseases (Apr 2024)

Case fatality rates of COVID‐19 during epidemic periods of variants of concern: A meta-analysis by continents

  • Qianhang Xia,
  • Yujie Yang,
  • Fengling Wang,
  • Zhongyue Huang,
  • Wuqi Qiu,
  • Ayan Mao

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 141
p. 106950

Abstract

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Objectives: To calculate the case fatality rates (CFR) of COVID‐19 during epidemic periods of different variants of concern (VOC) by continents. Methods: We systematically searched five authoritative databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and MedRxiv) for epidemiological studies on the CFR of COVID-19 published between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2023. After identifying the epidemic trends of variants, we used a random-effects model to calculate the pooled CFRs during periods of different VOCs. This meta-analysis was conducted following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023431572). Results: There were variations in the CFRs among different variants of COVID-19 (Alpha: 2.62%, Beta: 4.19%, Gamma: 3.60%, Delta: 2.01%, Omicron: 0.70%), and disparities in CFRs also existed among continents. On the whole, the CFRs of COVID-19 in Europe and Oceania were slightly lower than in other continents. There was a statistically significant association between the variant, HDI value, age distribution, coverage of full vaccination of cases, and the CFR. Conclusions: The CFRs of COVID-19 varied across the epidemic periods of different VOCs, and disparities existed among continents. The CFR value reflected combined effects of various factors within a certain context. Caution should be exercised when comparing CFRs due to disparities in testing capabilities and age distribution among countries, etc.

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