The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly evolved into an acute health crisis with extensive socioeconomic and demographic consequences. The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic requires a refined (and more comprehensive) understanding of virus dissemination over space, transmission mechanisms, clinical features, and risk factors. In line with this assumption, the present study illustrates a comparative, empirical analysis of the role of socioeconomic and demographic dimensions in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic grounded on a large set of indicators comparing the background context across a global sample of countries. Results indicate that—in addition to epidemiological factors—basic socioeconomic forces significantly shaped contagions as well as hospitalization and death rates across countries. As a response to the global crisis driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, all-embracing access to healthcare services should be strengthened along with the development of sustainable health systems supported by appropriate resources and skills. The empirical findings of this study have direct implications for the coordination of on-going, global efforts aimed at containing COVID-19 (and other, future) pandemics.

中文翻译：

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揭示社会经济力量在 COVID-19 大流行早期的作用：全球分析

COVID-19 大流行已迅速演变为严重的健康危机，对社会经济和人口造成广泛影响。COVID-19 大流行的严重性需要对病毒在空间的传播、传播机制、临床特征和风险因素有更细致（更全面）的了解。根据这一假设，本研究说明了对社会经济和人口维度在 COVID-19 大流行早期阶段的作用的比较、实证分析，该分析基于一组比较全球样本国家背景背景的大量指标. 结果表明，除了流行病学因素之外，基本的社会经济力量也显着影响了各国的传染病以及住院率和死亡率。作为对 COVID-19 大流行引发的全球危机的回应，应加强全方位的医疗保健服务，同时发展由适当资源和技能支持的可持续卫生系统。这项研究的实证结果对协调正在进行的旨在遏制 COVID-19（和其他未来）大流行的全球努力具有直接影响。