Does the prosperity of a country play a role in COVID-19 outcomes?

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to clarify the association between prosperity and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outcomes and its impact on the future management of pandemics. Methods: This is an observational study using information from 2 online registries. The numbers of infected individuals and deaths and the prosperity rank of each country were obtained from worldometer.info and the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index, respectively. Results: There is a combination of countries with high and low prosperity on the list of COVID-19-infected countries. The risk of the virus pandemic seems to be more extensive in countries with high prosperity. A Spearman’s rho test confirmed a significant correlation between prosperity, the number of COVID-19 cases, and the number of deaths at the 99% level. Conclusion: New emerging pandemics affect all nations. In order to increase the likelihood of successfully managing future events, it is important to consider preexisting health security, valid population-based management approaches, medical decision-making, communication, continuous assessment, triage, treatment, early and complete physical distancing strategies, and logistics. These elements cannot be taught on-site and on occasion. There is a need for innovative and regular educational activities for all stakeholders committed to safeguarding our future defense systems concerning diagnostic, protection, treatment, and rehabilitation in pandemics, as well as other emergencies.