Publications by authors named "Ben Wulf"
Objectives: To analyse the relationships between SARS-CoV-2 laboratory testing capacity (TC) and socioeconomic factors (wealth, governance and social inequality) across 109 countries in 2020-2021, to identify potential determinants of global disparities in TC during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design: An ecological study using regression analyses to explore the associations between TC and socioeconomic determinants within and across global regions.
Setting/participants: Data from 109 countries from Our World in Data, the WHO, the United Nations and others grouped into six geographic and sociodemographic regions (global burden of disease regions), were analysed separately for the years 2020-2021 based on differential vaccine availability and country-level responses throughout the pandemic.
Article Synopsis
- Ecuador experienced significant COVID-19 mortality in 2020, despite early implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), highlighting challenges in high-mobility informal labor settings.
- A study analyzed respiratory samples from 1950 patients during the pandemic, finding correlations between lower NPI stringency and increased detection of multiple respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.
- Phylogenomic analyses showed numerous independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020, with NPIs negatively correlating with the variety of circulating virus strains, emphasizing the importance of effective interventions in controlling outbreaks, particularly in resource-limited contexts.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Delta variant epidemiology in Africa is unknown. We found Delta variant was introduced in Benin during April-May 2021 and became predominant within 2 months, after which a steep increase in reported coronavirus disease incidence occurred. Benin might require increased nonpharmaceutical interventions and vaccination coverage.
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