The Canary Islands were the autonomous community with fewer people died during the Covid-19 health crisis, as revealed by an international study led by the University of Southampton (United Kingdom) and with the participation of Spanish epidemiologists.
During the period that includes 2020 and the first half of 2021, before the vaccination program in Spain was extended to the entire population, an excess mortality of 89,200 people was recorded, of which 48,000 were men and 41,200 women, figures that exceed the figure. official deaths due to Covid-19 by 10%.
Specifically, the islands saw a “slight decrease” in expected deaths, with 210 lesswhile Madrid was the autonomous community with the greatest excess deaths during the pandemic.
After Madrid, the second community with the greatest excess is Castilla-La Mancha, followed by Catalonia, Aragon and Castilla y León (in relative terms). Otherwise, there are Murcia, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja and Cantabria, which have had a excess mortality “very small.”
This research, led by University of Southampton (UK) epidemiologist Nazrul Islam, aimed to prove the “an extremely unequal impact of the pandemic in the different Spanish communities, and in which the Spanish epidemiologists Fernando José García López, Miguel Ángel Royo Bordonada and María Victoria Zunzunegui also participated.
Although the Canary Islands were the first community to officially diagnose a case of Covid-19, it was the one that experienced the lowest associated mortality.
This is why the ISCIII called for “in-depth” reflection to compare the health policies of each community, so that we can learn from those that have done best, particularly in dealing with future pandemics.
“The geographical location of the population in Spain cannot be a factor determining the risk of dying in the event of a pandemic. It is up to the authorities to carry out in-depth reflection to analyze and compare the public health policies of the autonomous communities and learn from those that have done better to deal with future pandemics”, underlined the ISCIII.
