The COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania: A Comparative Description with Its Border Countries

Enciu, Bianca Georgiana; Tănase, Alina Andreea; Drăgănescu, Anca; Aramă, Victoria; Pițigoi, Daniela; Crăciun, Maria

doi:10.3390/healthcare10071223

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…As in every other European state, Romania and Greece were under the guidance and surveillance of the European Parliament, which supervised and coordinated the countermeasures against COVID-19, providing the necessary funds and means in order to hold back the spread of the virus [ 16 ]. In addition, the countries´ governments, following the recommendations and the direction paved by the World Health Organization, implemented supplementary policies similar to those observed in other countries in an attempt to mitigate, at times, the ongoing situation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Comparison Between the Epidemiological Situation in Greece and Romania

Rigatou,

Sultana

2024

Cureus

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Introduction Since the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there seems to be scarce data targeting the comparison of epidemiological data among different countries. In an attempt to reveal and characterize the epidemiological profile in the Balkan peninsula, a cross-sectional study has been conducted, aiming to retrospectively collect all the existing information regarding the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic over a period of three years, starting from March 2020 until March 2023. The comparative analysis of the epidemiological features and the main indicators between Romania and Greece can generate a good overview of the factors that can influence public health and create an adequate system of measures to limit the COVID-19 pandemic in the area. A retrospective comparative study aiming to detect and associate the main indicators determining the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic data with the control measures adopted in Romania and Greece was performed. Methods Publicly available data were obtained from official sources such as the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Control, the Romanian and Greek Ministries of Health, and the Romanian National Centre for Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases. The reported number of cases, in total and in conjunction with the age distribution, total number of deaths, and vaccination coverage, from the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 until March 2023, were collected. All officially reported cases of COVID-19 were included in this analysis. Reports with missing or incomplete values regarding the timeframe, age distribution, and vaccination status were excluded. Results During the timeframe of the study, from March 2020 until March 2023, Greece reported a higher number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases as compared to Romania (5,910,103 cases and 3,352,356 cases, respectively). Still, in terms of the overall death toll, Romania recorded a higher mortality rate than Greece during the pandemic (67.773 deaths vs. 36.372 deaths). Concerning both cumulative incidence rates and the 14-day case notification rate per 100.000 inhabitants, it is evident that Romania exhibited greater numbers throughout the course of the pandemic. Although it is not clearly stated, the compulsory vaccination of elderly people that was set as a high priority in Greece may have contributed to the above results. In terms of the 14-day death notification rate per 100.000 inhabitants in 2020 and 2021, Romania showed a higher rate than Greece, while Greece reported a greater rate in 2022 and up until March 2023. Between 2020 and 2023, Greece presented both a higher number of vaccinated individuals and a higher vaccination coverage with two doses (7,034,695 individuals, 70% of the general population), as compared to Romania (6,467,804 individuals, 33.68% of the general population, p<0.0001). Conclusions Despite the similar restrictions and preventive actions...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Comparison Between the Epidemiological Situation in Greece and Romania

Rigatou,

Sultana

2024

Cureus

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“…The main limitation of our study is that it could not perform the identification of each strain of SARS-CoV-2 and was based on the predominant circulation of the Omicron variant during the clinical trial periods [43,44]. Other limitations of the study were the monitoring of patients only during the hospitalization period; the lack of data related to the time period between the last dose of vaccine and reinfection; and the lack of data on the identification of the strain of SARS-CoV-2 that caused the initial episode of COVID-19 in the case of patients who experienced reinfection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Evaluation of the Clinical Severity of COVID-19 of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Patients in Southeastern Romania in the First 6 Months of 2022, during the Omicron Wave

et al. 2023

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(1) Background: The pandemic wave produced by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron was characterized by milder clinical forms and high contagiousness. The vaccination rate against COVID-19 in Romania was approximately 42%. (2) Objectives: Comparison of the clinical severity in vaccinated patients compared to unvaccinated ones. (3) Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on a group of 699 adult patients confirmed with COVID-19 who presented in the “Sf. Cuvioasa Parascheva” Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital of Galati, Romania, between 1 January 2022 and 30 June 2022. The study compared the need for hospitalization, reinfections, demographic and comorbidity data, clinical and paraclinical parameters from the initial evaluation, and the ratio of unfavorable developments on subgroups chosen according to the vaccination status. (4) Results and Conclusions: Our study reveals that unvaccinated patients required hospitalization in 54.68% of cases, while fully vaccinated patients had a hospitalization rate of 40.72%, which was significantly lower than that of the unvaccinated group (p = 0.01); patients who received a booster dose had a hospitalization rate of 27.84% (p < 0.01, significantly lower than unvaccinated individuals; p = 0.01, significantly lower than fully vaccinated individuals); and among the four patients who received four doses, none required hospitalization. From the analysis of the two subgroups of hospitalized patients, we observed a significantly higher prevalence of radiological lesions, such as pulmonary opacities in the group of unvaccinated patients and a higher average duration of hospitalization, and serum values of D-dimers and blood-sugar at admission were significantly higher in unvaccinated patients. The higher presence of these parameters, which are indicators of severe progression in clinical studies, in the group of unvaccinated patients suggests the need to include them in the initial evaluation of the unvaccinated patients with COVID-19.The cumulative share of deaths and transfers in the ICU was higher in the group of unvaccinated patients, but the difference between the groups had no statistical significance. This study draws attention to the possibility of severe clinical forms among both vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, especially in the elderly and in patients with multiple comorbidities.

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“…Furthermore, during the pandemic the causes of mortality have changed compared to the previous 5 years, creating a scenario of causality that is difficult to interpret [ 35 , 51 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess Mortality among Physicians and Dentists during COVID-19 in Italy: A Cross-Sectional Study Related to a High-Risk Territory

et al. 2022

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Background: Many studies previously reported epidemiological data on mortality due to COVID-19 among health workers. All these studies included a partial sample of the population with a substantial selection bias. The present study evaluates the trend of mortality among physicians and dentists operating in an area considered to be at high risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data relating to all physicians and dentists registered in the province of Pavia (Italy), a sample consisting of 5454 doctors in 2020 was analyzed. The mortality rates obtained were compared with those related to the 5-year period preceding the pandemic and with those related to the general population. Results: In the area considered, a mortality rate of 0.83% (+69% compared to 2015–2019) was observed in the entire sample in 2020 and 0.43% (−11% compared to 2015–2019) in 2021; among physicians, there was a mortality rate of 0.76% (+53% compared to 2015-2019) in 2020 and 0.35% (−29% compared to 2015–2019) in 2021; for dentists, there was a mortality rate of 1.27% (+185% compared to 2015–2019) in 2020 and 1.01% (+127% compared to 2015–2019) in 2021. Conclusions: These data report the global impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on physicians and dentists in a high-risk territory. In 2020, a significant increase in the mortality rate compared to the previous 5 years was observed for both physicians and dentists; in 2021, a significant increase in the mortality rate was observed only for dentists. These data are also significant in evaluating the impact of vaccination on physicians and dentists and indicate that dentists were among the professions most at risk during the pandemic.

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The COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania: A Comparative Description with Its Border Countries

Cited by 14 publications

References 8 publications

SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Comparison Between the Epidemiological Situation in Greece and Romania

SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: A Comparison Between the Epidemiological Situation in Greece and Romania

Comparative Evaluation of the Clinical Severity of COVID-19 of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Patients in Southeastern Romania in the First 6 Months of 2022, during the Omicron Wave

Excess Mortality among Physicians and Dentists during COVID-19 in Italy: A Cross-Sectional Study Related to a High-Risk Territory

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