The Anatomy of Disasters – COVID-19 Pandemic revisited

Introduction: The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a pandemic with massive impact on health and social wellbeing. In fact, the impact of COVID-19 was disproportional for various groups, uncovering unexpected vulnerable groups during the 4 pandemic phases (outbreak, containment, mitigation and recovery phase). Spatiotemporal dynamics of COVID-19 caused changing health inequalities. To unravel the underlying factors of these inequalities, we investigated socioeconomic and environmental factors at various infection waves at an intra-urban scale in Berlin-Neukölln.

Methods: We collected reporting data from the pandemic during 2020 until 2023. The case fatality rates (CFRs) and odds ratios (ORs) of demographic parameters, prevalent variants of concern (VOCs) and vaccine availability were calculated.

Results: We identified influencing factors and relative risks which varied across time and space. The strongest influence of health inequalities were sociodemographic factors over environmental features. The most identified predictors were populations with migrant backgrounds and nursing home residents over different waves. This study highlights potential structural health inequalities within migrant communities and young populations, associated with lower socioeconomic status and a higher risk of COVID-19 incidence across diverse pandemic periods. Lessons from the pandemic management are also essential for any disaster forms:

Socially adequate containment and cluster strategies are essential in pre-vaccination scenarios to prevent future infection traps

Locally tailored interventions for diverse citizens are essential to address health inequalities and foster a more sustainable urban environment

Target-group specific communication and multiplicators need to be prepared with each intervention

Robust digital open-source system with a high degree of FAIR concept (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability und Reuse)

A stronger focus is required for after-waves and post-disaster effects

Discussion: This study highlights potential structural health inequalities for higher risk of COVID-19 infection across diverse pandemic periods. Our findings indicate that locally tailored interventions for diverse citizens at various waves are essential to address health inequalities and foster a more sustainable urban environment.

Publication History

Article published online:
11 March 2025