Quantifying the impact of regional variations in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations across Ireland.

Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9204966 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1464-360X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 11011262 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Eur J Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Oxford : Oxford University Press
Original Publication: Stockholm, Sweden : Almqvist & Wiksell International, c1991-

COVID-19*; Disease Outbreaks ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Ireland/epidemiology ; SARS-CoV-2

Background: As most COVID-19 transmission occurs locally, targeted measures where the likelihood of infection and hospitalization is highest may be a prudent risk management strategy. To date, in the Republic of Ireland, a regional comparison of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations has not been completed. Here, we investigate (i) the variation in rates of confirmed infection and hospital admissions within geographical units of the Republic of Ireland and (ii) frequency of deviations in risk of infection or risk of hospitalization.
Methods: We analyzed routinely collected, publicly available data available from the National Health Protection and Surveillance Centre and Health Service Executive from nine geographical units, known as Community Health Organization areas. The observational period included 206 14-day periods (1 September 2020-15 April 2021).
Results: A total of 206 844 laboratory-confirmed cases and 7721 hospitalizations were reported. The national incidence of confirmed infections was 4508 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4489-4528] per 100 000 people. The risk of hospital admission among confirmed cases was 3.7% (95% CI 3.5-3.9). Across geographical units, the likelihood that rolling 14-day risk of infection or hospitalization exceeded national levels was 9-86% and 0-88%, respectively. In the most affected regions, we estimate this resulted in an excess of 15 180 infections and 1920 hospitalizations.
Conclusions: Responses to future COVID-19 outbreaks should consider the risk and harm of infection posed to people living in specific regions. Given the recent surges of COVID-19 cases in Europe, every effort should be made to strengthen local surveillance and to tailor community-centred measures to control transmission.
(© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.)

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Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) through the COVID-19 Rapid Response Research and Innovation Programme

Date Created: 20210916 Date Completed: 20220204 Latest Revision: 20220204

20231215

PMC8807112

10.1093/eurpub/ckab173

34528067