Features of the course and medical and social aspects of a new coronavirus infection in the Republic of Tajikistan

The aim - to assess some medical and social aspects of the epidemic process during the first wave of a new coronavirus infectious disease - COVID-19 in the Republic of Tajikistan. Material and methods. The retrospective study was conducted on the basis of an epidemiological analysis of official statistics as part of the epidemiological surveillance of COVID-19 from April 2020 to April 2021. Results and discussion. At the beginning of April 2021, a total of 13 308 cases of COVID-19 were registered, of which the proportion of recovered was 99.3% (13 218 cases), and the number of cases with a fatal outcome was 0.68% (90 cases;the average age of the deceased was 62.3±0.07 years). The peak of infection during the first wave occurred in May and June 2020, when the average daily increase was 97 people. For 2 months of the epidemic in the republic, 44.6% of the total number of patients with COVID-19 became infected, and the number of deaths reached 52 people or 57.7%. Among the patients, men prevailed (65%). The largest number of deaths (76.7%;n=69) was among older people with comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, metabolic syndrome, etc.). An analysis of the age structure showed that the main proportion of cases fell on the age group of 40-60 years (42.6%). It was found that a significant proportion of patients with COVID-19 was detected in the Sughd region (33.0%) and Dushanbe (30.1%). Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic showed that the national healthcare system of the Republic of Tajikistan was not sufficiently prepared for such a development of the COVID-19 epidemic process. There was an acute shortage of medical and preventive specialists in the republic. Given the current situation in the Republic of Tajikistan, within the framework of epidemiological surveillance, the features of the course of the COVID-19 epidemic process were analyzed, adequate emergency measures were developed and proposed to limit the spread of the virus and reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on public health. The number of beds has been reasonably expanded, the capacity of the laboratory service has been increased, mass vaccination of the population has been started according to epidemic indications. © 2022 Geotar Media Publishing Group