https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210117132223.htm

The COVID-19 pandemic has put an enormous strain on healthcare systems across the world by increasing the demand for healthcare professionals and the need for beds in intensive care units and respiratory support such as ventilators. However, the mortality rate among confirmed cases has greatly varied between countries and this is in great part due to differences in the capacity and preparedness of their health systems.

"To date, there is very limited data on the mortality of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 or on how the health systems have coped with the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries" explains Otavio Ranzani, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the study. Brazil, for example, is an upper middle-income country with a unified health system for its 210 million inhabitants. However, the country's unique health system has been undermined by recent economic and political crises and there is great heterogeneity across different regions of the country.