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Abstract: Although food insecurity presents a decreasing trend worldwide, some regions recently observed an increase in hunger levels. Such was the case in Brazil between 2014 and 2018, during and after the great Brazilian recession, and between 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper describes the evolution of food insecurity in Brazil between 2004 and 2022 using Brazilian National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), Brazilian Household Budget Survey (POF) and Continuous PNAD. Households were classified in 20 types of arrangements, and the most vulnerable living arrangements between 2004 and 2018 were identified by multinomial logistic models. Overall, households headed by women (single blacks, whites or in couples) with or without children were the most prone to food insecurity. As for the evolution of food insecurity in Brazil between 2018 and 2022, logistic models were applied to estimate moderate and severe food insecurity levels among the 20 household types. Additionally, effects of the emergency aid and idiosyncrasies of the COVID-19 pandemic were estimated.

Pregnant people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have a higher risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes compared with pregnant people without COVID-19. In 2021, large increases in maternal mortality were reported in Jamaica, almost half of which were attributable to COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination has been shown to reduce these risks, but low- and middle-income countries lack free, publicly available data, known as open data, on COVID-19 vaccine uptake for their pregnant populations. The objectives of this paper were to: review how high-income countries use open data to detect trends in COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant people and develop vaccination distribution strategies; outline barriers to making open data available for maternal COVID-19 vaccination in the Caribbean; and propose a multipronged strategy that would increase the availability of open data on maternal COVID-19 vaccination in the Caribbean. A multipronged strategy to fill the data void would involve: (i) utilizing existing Caribbean maternal immunization data collection entities; (ii) adapting digital software tools to establish maternal electronic immunization registries; and (iii) collaborating with local partners skilled in data analytics. Making open data available for COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant people in the Caribbean could offer substantial benefits, including the development of measurable maternal COVID-19 vaccination goals and the facilitation of vaccine decision-making discussions between providers and pregnant people.

Introduction and purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the health, life and quality of life of many people around the world. It caused huge changes in the daily functioning of entire societies. Pregnant women are a unique group of people who are particularly at risk. They are accompanied by fear for their health, but also fear of the impact of the disease on their offspring. The pandemic has also caused new challenges for mothers-to-be that have not occurred so far. In this paper, we would like to present the current state of knowledge on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the risk of developing pre-eclampsia. State of knowledge: We analyzed studies showing the impact of COVID-19 infection on the health of pregnant women, especially on the risk of developing pre-eclampsia. Data from many studies are contradictory. Some studies do not indicate a significant impact of coronavirus infection on the development of pre-eclampsia. Some of them confirm a higher incidence of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Conclusions: Despite the experience gained, there are still many unknowns. Thanks to research, we have more and more knowledge about the course of COVID-19 in pregnant women and its impact on their lives. Many observations are still needed to formulate clear conclusions about the impact of COVID-19 on the risk of developing pre-eclampsia. It is also necessary to continue to educate women, encourage compliance with the recommendations of doctors and the World Health Organization to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Objetivo. Describir la calidad de vida del personal de salud, el ambiente laboral y la interacción entre el empleado y ambiente laboral durante la pandemia. Métodos. Se realizó una revisión exploratoria. Se utilizaron las bases de datos electrónicas PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Literature Complete, Google Scholar y los repositorios de la Organización Mundial de la Salud y los Centro para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades. Se incluyeron estudios primarios, secundarios y literatura gris publicados entre diciembre de 2019 y marzo de 2021 en idioma español, inglés y portugués. La calidad metodológica fue evaluada por la lista de verificación de Autoridad, exactitud, cobertura, objetividad, fecha e importancia (AACODS, por su sigla en inglés) A measurement tool to assess systematic reviews (AMSTAR) y Critical Appraisal Checklist for Text and Opinion Papers. Se efectuó un análisis temático basado en el modelo de calidad de vida y bienestar. Resultados. De un total de 208 artículos, se incluyeron 11. La calidad de vida del personal de salud durante pandemia por COVID-19 estuvo influenciada por las características del personal de salud, el ambiente laboral y la interacción entre el empleado y el ambiente laboral; se observaron falencias relacionadas con factores psicosociales y ocupacionales. Discusión. La calidad de vida del personal de salud estuvo caracterizada por estigmatización, estrés, ansiedad y fatiga. La gestión organizacional y la aplicación de intervenciones psicológicas evidencian un efecto en la interacción entre el empleado y el ambiente laboral, e influyen en su calidad de vida.

Objective. To describe the editorial processing time of published COVID-19 research articles and compare this with a similar topic, human influenza, and analyze the number of publications, withdrawals, and retractions. Methods. A descriptive-analytical study using PubMed on research articles with the MeSH terms human influenza and COVID-19. Time to acceptance (from submission to acceptance) and time to publication (from acceptance to publication) were compared. Retractions and withdrawals were reviewed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results. There were 31 319 research articles on COVID-19 and 4 287 on human influenza published during 2020. The median time to acceptance for COVID-19 was lower than that for human influenza (8 vs. 92 days). The median time to publication for COVID-19 articles was shorter than those on human influenza (12 vs. 16 days); 47.0% of COVID-19 research articles were accepted within the first week of submission, and 19.5% within one day. There were 82 retractions and withdrawals for COVID-19 articles, 1 for human influenza, and 5 for articles that contain both terms; these were mainly related to ethical misconduct, and 27 (31.0%) were published by the same group of authors in one highest-quartile journal. Conclusions. The conundrum between fast publishing and adequate standards is shown in this analysis of COVID-19 research articles. The speed of acceptance for COVID-19 manuscripts was 11.5 times faster than for human influenza. The high number of acceptances within a day or week of submission and the number of retractions and withdrawals of COVID-19 papers might be a warning sign about the possible lack of a quality control process in scientific publishing and the peer review process.

This paper presents a method to estimate excess mortality where national data are missing for some or all of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic period, but subnational data exist, such as in Argentina. By making use of the stability of the regional distribution of deaths, data on deaths in Córdoba province were used to project excess deaths in Argentina from March 2020 up to the end of 2021. The number of excess deaths was estimated at 134 504, which is 14.8% higher than the reported number of COVID-19 deaths in Argentina for the same time period.

Introduction and purpose The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been ongoing since early 2020, has significantly affected the health care system worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 virus being the etiological factor of the disease has a high affinity for the renal organ. The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the current knowledge of the problem of frequent AKI in the course of coronavirus infection, the impact of COVID-19 disease in patients with chronic kidney disease and on renal replacement therapy or dialysis. Review method In the process of writing, we used available articles and scientific papers in Pubmed and Google Scholar databases based on keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, AcuteKidneyInjury, ChronicKidneyDisease. State of knowledge SARS-CoV-2 virus enters target cells through the ACE2 receptor. In the pathophysiology of AKI in the course of COVID-19, a key role is attributed to secondary damage mechanisms such as cytokine storm, hypoperfusion with hypoxia, endothelial dysfunction. The incidence of acute kidney injury ranges from 5.1% to 36.6%. The development of AKI, renal transplant status, the presence of chronic kidney disease or renal replacement therapy is associated with an increased risk of severe course and higher mortality on COVID-19. Summary The COVID-19 pandemic has posed new logistical and therapeutic challenges to the health care system. Due to the high tropism of SARS-CoV-2 to the kidneys and the frequent occurrence of AKI during the course of the infection, nephrology patients, those on renal replacement therapy and those awaiting transplantation should be placed under special surveillance. Patients in these groups are at particular risk for a severe course of COVID-19.

The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant has become one of the greatest public health challenges worldwide since, after being first identified in India in December 2020, it has spread rapidly, affecting mainly countries with low vaccination rates and those that have relaxed the public health and social measures implemented to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The Delta variant has a higher replication capacity and is associated with viral loads up to 1 260 times higher than those of infections caused by the original strain, which may be associated with an increased likelihood of hospitalization, ICU admission, need for oxygen therapy, pneumonia, or even death. Fully vaccinated individuals have almost similar protection against both Delta and Alpha variants. Given the impact of Delta in countries where it is the dominant variant, it is necessary for all countries to develop systematic action plans focused on implementing strict public health and social measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and on increasing vaccination coverage. Bearing this in mind, the objective of this reflection paper is to describe the main characteristics of the Delta variant, its impact on the dynamics of the pandemic in some of the countries where it has been detected, the effectiveness of vaccines against this variant, and its implications for public health in Colombia.

Introduction: Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the regions most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, there is scarce literature addressing the research strategies developed in LAC to face COVID-19. Objective: To quantify and assess the production of scientific publications about COVID-19 in 32 countries of LAC between January 1 and July 31, 2020. Materials and methods: Bibliometric study. Scientific papers on COVID-19 conducted in LAC or reporting data pertaining to LAC and published between January 1 to July 31, 2020, were searched in the Scopus, PubMed, and LILACS databases. A subgroup analysis including only original research articles was performed to determine the contribution of LAC countries to research on COVID-19, and standardization measures (# of articles per million people) were applied to compare the country-specific production of this type of articles. Results: A total of 1 291 publications were retrieved. Overall, most of them were non-original research articles (81.72%), and the countries with the highest scientific production were Brazil (43.91%) and Mexico (9.14%). However, after applying the standardization measures, Chile was the country with the highest production of original articles (0.58 per million inhabitants). Regarding original studies (n=236), cross-sectional design was the most common (25.84%). Diagnosis and treatment of the disease was the main research focus (n=354; 27.42%). However, in the subgroup analysis (n=236), epidemiology and surveillance were the most prevalent research focus (n=57; 24.15%). Conclusions: During the study period, non-original research articles were predominant in the scientific production of the LAC region, and interventional studies were scarce among original articles, while the cross-sectional design predominated. Further research with a better quality of evidence should be performed in these countries to contribute to the making of health policies aimed at easing the burden of COVID-19 in the region and preparing for future pandemics.

We greatly appreciate the comments made by Rojas-Botero et al.1 on our paper entitled “Critical reflections on the Municipal Epidemiological Resilience Index used for public policy decision-making regarding the control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia”.2 We acknowledge that public health, understood as the well-being of the community, should be the focus of all our efforts as health professionals. In this sense, decision-making amid a major emergency, such as the one we are currently experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, requires a balanced and calm judgment that considers both the general context and local specificities, as well as the best available scientific evidence, that is, evidence that not only supports decisions, but also prioritizes benefits over risks.