COVID-19 Pandemic Waves in Italy: An Epidemiological Overview about Infections, Swabs and Death Rates

Introduction: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the entire World was overrun by a pandemic. Science has managed, in a short time, to characterize a new disease, sequence a new viral genome, develop diagnostics, produce treatment protocols and establish the efficacy of drugs and vaccines in randomized controlled trials. In this paper we have dealt with different topics regarding the pandemic linked to COVID-19. Objectives: Aim of this paper is to compare the number of deaths attributable to COVID-19, that occurred in the different Italian macro-areas, in the different pandemic waves; we studied the trend of the curves relating to the proportion of deaths to the number of infected in the Italian macro-areas for the pandemic waves and analysed the mortality data, focusing on the Italian context and comparing it with other foreign countries. We examined the data regarding swabs, hospitalizations, home isolation, admissions to intensive care and deaths registered in pandemic period. Results: Geographically, Italy was differently affected by the pandemic. Northern Italy was the most affected area. In comparison with some foreign countries, Italy is one of the nations that paid the most in terms of deaths, due to: delays in understanding the seriousness of the emergency; the slow management in the tracking systems of contagions; the high number of hospitalizations; a corporate organizational system poorly planned. Conclusion: The years 2020 and 2021 have been dramatic and unprecedented. The year 2021 was the year of redemption, where, despite social, economic and health difficulties, thanks to mass vaccination, we were able to give a real strong response to the pandemic. Trust in science has led to a drastic decrease in mortality throughout the world.