Abstract

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THE SARS-COV-2 PANDEMIC: VULNERABILITY OF A HIGH RISK NEGLECTED POPULATION GROUP.

Paulo Roberto Blanco Moreira Norberg*, Antonio Neres Norberg, Fabiano Guerra Sanches, Fernanda Castro Manhães, Alcemar Antônio Lopes de Matos, Bianca Magnelli Mangiavacchi, Lígia Cordeiro Matos Faial

ABSTRACT

Although more than a year has passed since the beginning of the pandemic of COVID-19, data on the incidence, mortality and other consequences of this disease among indigenous peoples are still scarce. This research aims to verify the degree of vulnerability of indigenous peoples to COVID-19 and the possible variables involved by reviewing the current scientific literature. All the consulted researches that performed clinical tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 among indigenous individuals evinced higher incidence rates among indigenous people when compared to the non-indigenous population. Higher rates of hospitalization and mortality were also confirmed. Syndemic factors and genetic aspects of susceptibility are determining factors for the severity of the incidence and prognosis in this population group. The isolation of some indigenous communities does not make them less vulnerable to infection by SARS-CoV-2. The scarcity of epidemiological data has direct negative consequences on the lack of public policies that can minimize the consequences and fatalities resulting from COVID-19 among indigenous populations. It can be affirmed that indigenous populations are among the main risk groups for COVID-19 and the current insufficiency of data and public policies directed towards the health of these groups can have devastating impacts on indigenous communities in the progression of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Indigenous Populations, Vulnerability, Risk Group.