Brazilian municipal health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Brazil was one of the countries most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in
Latin America and the world considering the number of cases, deaths, and
the duration of lockdowns. Between 2020 and 2022, both pharmacological and
non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) were adopted at the municipal
level, with 5,568 municipalities and the Federal District taking
health-related actions. We present a new dataset revealing the complexity
of this situation by reporting data based on thirty-seven surveys taken by
mayors between 23 March 2021 and 24 March 2022. The number of
participating municipalities in each survey varied over time. The database
indicates in which rounds each municipality participated. The minimum
number of participating municipalities was 1,328 (23.8%), while the
maximum reached 3,591 (64.49%), showing significant variation. The median
was 2,461 (44.19%), and the mean of 2,482 (44.57%) suggests that, in
general, municipal participation was close to the median, suggesting the
data are representative. Finally, the first quartile was 2,063, and the
third quartile was 2,831. The table titled “participation” presents the
participation percentages for each of the rounds. This dataset deals with
the need to monitor and share information about fragmented policies
designed to tackle health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantifying
these initiatives and how they varied across municipalities can help us to
understand the effectiveness of interventions in reducing virus
transmission. We offer information over time on a series of measures to
encourage social distancing, implement the vaccination programme, provide
infrastructure to treat infected people, and facilitate how local
governments would eventually ease these measures. This information can
contribute to the institutional learning of health systems worldwide,
assisting in future situations where a highly contagious virus challenges
society.