Burden Estimation of SAR-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in Ireland over the First Full two years of the pandemic

BACKGROUND: Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) is a standardized metric for quantifying the direct impact of a disease on a population for easy comparability. Most studies investigated the health impact of COVID-19 at the early stage of the pandemic. Several studies in Europe reported an estimated burden of COVID-19 for 1-full year at a time the post-acute consequences of the disease were very much a grey area. We set out to estimate a 2-year DALYs of COVID-19 in Ireland. METHODS: Data on national mortality, hospital and community-managed cases reported by the Health Protection and Surveillance Centre, Ireland, were used to estimate the DALYs based on the Global Burden of Diseases study modelling framework. DALYs were estimated by age and gender from March 2020 - February 2022. DALY is a summary metric of YLL (Years of Life Lost) and YLD (Years Lived with Disability). RESULTS: An estimated 1.2 million symptomatic SAR-CoV-2 infections with 6,211 deaths were reported in Ireland between March 2020 and February 2022. Overall, the estimated DALYs due to COVID-19 were 83,619 two years post-pandemic (1st year, 55,797; 2nd year, 27,826). DALYs for males [42,745 (1st year, 28,558; 2nd year, 14,191)] were higher than females [40,874 (1st year, 27,238; 2nd year, 13,635)]. YLDs contributed 8.9% of the total DALYs (2.9% in year one and 21% in year two)]. Males aged 45-64 years had the largest burden (9,531 DALYs). Post-acute consequences of COVID-19 contributed to 81.2% (95% UI 61.4% - 90.2%) of the total mortality burden [1st year, 83.9% (67.1% - 91.3%); 2nd year, 80.4% (60.4% - 89.8%)]. CONCLUSIONS: The 2-year burden estimation showed a substantial impact on the population health of Ireland. Post-acute consequences of COVID-19 are the major contributor to the morbidity burden. Further insight into the empirical estimate of at-risk individuals with the establishment of targeted interventions will help to mitigate the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the Irish healthcare system. KEY MESSAGES: • Post-acute consequences of COVID-19 are the major contributor to the morbidity burden. • Insight into the empirical estimate of at-risk individuals with the establishment of targeted interventions.