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Background: The death of women as a result of violent crime has become a major social and health problem worldwide. Most of these crimes are committed by their partners. The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have amplified the problem, given that measures to contain the spread of the disease have exposed women to more prolonged contact with their aggressors. Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of lethal and intentional violent crimes committed against women in the state of Alagoas, Brazil, from March 2018 to February 2020 (before the pandemic) and from March 2020 to December 2021 (during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic). Methods: This is an observational study involving all deaths of women due to lethal and intentional violent crimes. The data was obtained from the Alagoas State Secretariat for Public Security. The variables age, type of crime, means used, day of the week and time of the crime were analyzed. The specific mortality rate was calculated for the entire study period. Population data was obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: There were 316 deaths during the study period. The mortality rate in 2020 (5.33/100,000) was higher than in the years prior to the pandemic (3.88/100,000 in 2018 and 4.84/100,000 in 2019). There was a predominance of the 18–29 (31.31%) and 30–39 (27.95%) age groups in both periods. The proportion of female homicides was 55.19% in the pre-pandemic period and 64.20% in the pandemic period. The proportion of beating deaths was 1.7 times higher in the pandemic period than in the non-pandemic period (15.23% vs. 8.97%). There was also an increase in beatings on Saturdays, with a proportion 1.60 times higher than in the pre-pandemic period (19.75% vs. 12.34%). Conclusion: The victims were predominantly young women, the crimes classified as homicides and with the use of firearms. The study emphasizes that the context of the Covid-19 pandemic may have contributed to the increase in violent crimes against women in Alagoas, highlighting the urgency of preventive measures and support for victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a reduction in vaccination coverage of children and adolescents was observed in several countries. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the pandemic, in the first two years, on human rotavirus vaccine (HRV) coverage in Brazil compared with previous years. The number of doses of HRV administered in the period from January 2015 to December 2021 and its annual vaccination coverage were analyzed. The vaccination coverage decreased to 77.3% in 2020 and to 70.4% in 2021, substantially lower than the minimum that would be expected (89.2%); the decline was more pronounced in the second year of the pandemic despite the fact that in this period, the circulation restrictions were already less tight. Of the five Brazilian macro-regions, the northeast had the largest decline, and the south had the smallest impact on coverage. At the municipal level, less than half of the Brazilian municipalities managed to achieve vaccination coverage above 90% in either pandemic year. Although there was already a downward trend in coverage in the pre-pandemic years, the present study shows that the values recorded in 2020 and 2021 were significantly lower. Monitoring of vaccination coverage in the coming years should be carried out continuously in order to avoid a possible resurgence of rotavirus-induced diarrhea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its association with severe pneumonia and deaths has exposed gaps in the health systems of several countries worldwide. Although the necessary focus has been to care for hospitalized patients, the strengthening of Primary Health Care (PHC) actions is necessary. PHC is the gateway to the health system in several countries, including Brazil and it plays a role in preventing, protecting, promoting, and treating individuals and communities. Brazil, like other countries, has faced the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As Brazil has a universal and decentralized health system, in which PHC has been the model of health re-organizing the health system; here we reflected the importance of strengthening PHC in Brazil in the times of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]