OBJECTIVE:

To describe the characteristics of COVID-19 mortality and comorbidity in La Paz city, Bolivia, during the years 2020 - 2022.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Since March 2020 to February 2022, a two-year period, we studied data from the Vital Events Administration System (SIAVH) of the National Health Information System - Epidemiological Surveillance (SNIS-VE) of the Ministry of Health. The study included 700 cases: 564 (80.5%) in 2020, 112 (16%) in 2021, and 24 (3.4%) in 2022. Among these, 520 (74.3%) of them were diagnosed as positive through laboratory testing, while the remainder had clinically diagnosis.

RESULTS:

Male mortality was 69.7%, while female mortality was 30.3%, with a predominance among the elderly population. A total of 5956.5 Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) were recorded. The study presents sociodemographic characteristics of the affected population, epidemiological trends by week, age, and sex-specific mortality rates, and comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study shows the experience lived in La Paz due to COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Similar findings have been observed in regional studies, where male sex and the elderly population have predominated. Diabetes and hypertension have emerged as the most significant comorbidities.