UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

THE COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKERNOVEMBER UPDATE REPORT

Findings of the November Update

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE LATEST

At the time of this upload, we are tracking

DATA UPLOAD

the availability of data for 205 countries which together account for 99.9% of all
COVID-19 confirmed cases and reported
deaths globally.

month sees the integration of sex1 Thisdisaggregated data from the WHO
Dashboards and the WHO Coronavirus
Vaccination Dashboard for the first time. ThisThe Tracker looks for sex-disaggregateddata along the clinical pathway, which
includes testing, vaccinations (at least one
dose and fully vaccinated), confirmed cases,
confirmed cases among healthcare workers,
hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths.
It also collects sex- and age-disaggregateddata on cases, deaths and vaccinations.
In addition to capturing publicly available
sex-disaggregated COVID-19 data, as of thismonth, the tracker has integrated
additional sex-disaggregated data from thethe WHO COVID-19 Detailed Surveillance
Data Dashboard and the WHO Coronavirus
Vaccination Dashboard, leading to a
substantial increase in number of countries
reporting sex-disaggregated data since lastmonth (October 2021), with 57% of countries
providing sex-disaggregated data for cases
and/or deaths in the past month, and 41% ofcountries reporting on both cases andhas lead to an increase in the number ofcountries reporting sex-disaggregated data,with 57% of countries providing sexdisaggregated data for cases and/or deaths in
the past month, and 41% of countries
reporting on both cases and deaths in thepast month.

2 deaths was known. With the integration of

Last month, the sex of 6 in 10 cases and 7 in 10
this new data, the sex of 7 in 10 cases and 7 in
10 deaths globally is known, reflecting a slightincrease in the proportion of cases where thesex is known but no increase in deaths.
This new data has not changed the sex

3 differences seen along the clinical pathway,
which continues to show that men are lesslikely to be tested (44%), make up a roughly
equal number of cases (51%), but a greater
share of hospitalisations (55%), ICU admissions(63%) and deaths (57%).

deaths in the past month. The integrated
data are discussed in further detail below.

The Sex, Gender and COVID-19 ProjectGH5050 | APHRC | ICRW
globalhealth5050.org/covid19

COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Integrating WHO Sex-Disaggregated Data to the Tracker
In November, the Tracker begun integrating sex-disaggregated data available on the
WHO COVID-19 surveillance and WHO coronavirus vaccination dashboards for countries
where public reporting could not previously be found, or where more comprehensive
data was available from the WHO dashboard. This increased the number of countries
with sex-disaggregated data available on our dashboard across vaccination indicators,
cases, hospitalisations, deaths and infections among healthcare workers (see Figure 1).
New data from countries where no sex-disaggregated data on that indicator had
previously been found was added for 37 countries on vaccinations, 39 on cases, 23 on
deaths, 46 on hospitalisations and 30 on infections among healthcare workers (seeFigure 1).
For countries where we had previously found data, but more comprehensive data wasavailable from the WHO dashboard, data was updated for 5 countries on vaccinations,
22 on cases, 13 on deaths, 3 on hospitalisations and one on infections among healthcare
workers.
Some countries were excluded from integration into our dashboard for reporting fewer
than 20 instances on a particular indicator (one country was excluded for cases, three
for deaths, 12 for hospitalisations, and 11 for infections among healthcare workers).

Figure 1. Number of countries reporting sex-disaggregated data by indicator in November 2021 after
integration of sex-disaggregated data from WHO dashboards

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Global availability of sex-disaggregated data
Globally, as of mid-November, the sex of roughly 7 in 10 cases (72%) and roughly 7 in 10
deaths (72%) from COVID-19 was known. This represents a modest improvement from
October 2021, when the sex of roughly 6 in 10 cases and 7 in 10 deaths was known (Figs 2
and 3). This improvement can likely be contributed to the inclusion of sexdisaggregated data made available from the WHO dashboards (see Figure 1) which was
integrated for the first time this month.
Fig 2. Number of Global COVID-19 Cases where the Sex is Known, January 2021 - November 2021

Fig 3. Number of Global COVID-19 Deaths where the Sex is Known, January 2021 - November 2021

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Gaps in the availability of nationally-reported sex-disaggregated data on
COVID-19
At the time of this upload, across the 10 countries with the highest number ofconfirmed cases globally, there are four countries with notable gaps in the availability of
sex-disaggregated data (Table 1).
Sex disaggregated data on cases for Russia has only been available via reports to theWHO, however this data is very incomplete. No sex disaggregated data on deaths for
Russia have been found. We have not been able to locate sex-disaggregated data foreither cases or deaths for Turkey since October 2020 but were able to obtain more
recent data from the WHO. We have not been able to obtain sex disaggregated casedata for Brazil since December 2020 but were able to obtain more recent data from theWHO.
India last updated their sex-disaggregated case data by sex in May 2021 and sexdisaggregated death data in May 2020. We have not been able to locate sex
disaggregated data for cases or deaths for Iran since March 2020.

Table 1: Availability of Sex-Disaggregated Data within the Past Month amongst Countries
1with the Highest COVID-19 Caseload as of this Update, Oct 2021
Date indicates the last month where sex-disaggregated data was located for that country.

Country

Cases

DeathsUSA

Nov 2021

Nov 2021

India

May 2021

May 2020

BrazilAug 2021

Nov 2021

The United Kingdom 2

Oct 2021

Oct 2021

RussiaFeb 2021

Never

TurkeyAug 2021

Aug 2021

FranceNov 2021

Nov 2021

Iran

March 2020

March 2020

Argentina

Nov 2021

Oct 2021

Germany

Oct 2021

Oct 2021

Reported in pastmonth
Last reported over amonth ago
Never reported
1 According to the World Health Organization, https://covid19.who.int/ as of 16 November 2021.
2 Data for the United Kingdom is reported separately for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the COVID-19

Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker. All are currently reporting sex-disaggregated data on cases and deaths.

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Availability of sex-disaggregated data along the clinical pathway
With the inclusion of data from the WHO Detailed COVID-19 Surveillance Data Dashboard
and the WHO Coronavirus Vaccination Dashboard, the number of countries reporting sexdisaggregated data increased for vaccinations, cases, deaths, hospitalisations andhealthcare workers (see Figure 1). However, these data come from reports made directly to
the WHO; the number of countries reporting sex-disaggregated data publicly has declined
since September 2020.
Countries report sex-disaggregated data inconsistently and incompletely across all key
indicators. A notably smaller proportion of countries reported sex-disaggregated data in thepast month than have ever reported such data over the course of the pandemic (Figure 4).
In the past month, 55% (113) of the 205 countries being tracked reported sex-disaggregatedcase data and 47% (88) reported sex-disaggregated death data, reflecting an improvementfrom earlier reports due to the inclusion of data from WHO. 67 countries that previously
reported case data by sex have not updated their data in over a month (an increase from 49
last month due to the inclusion of historical data from the WHO dashboard) and 21 of thesecountries have not updated their sex-disaggregated data in 2021. As in September, 47
countries that previously reported death data by sex have not updated their data in over amonth and 14 of these countries have not updated sex-disaggregated data in 2021.
The majority of countries do not report on other indicators if they are not reporting on cases
or deaths. However, seven countries are currently reporting sex-disaggregated data for
vaccinations but not on cases or deaths.

Figure 4. Number of Countries Reporting Sex-Disaggregated Data by Indicator, Ever and in
the Past Month, across 205 Countries as of November 2021

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Global gender differences along the COVID-19 clinical pathway
Figure 5 shows the distribution of testing, confirmed cases, hospitalisations, ICU
admissions and deaths in men and women across all available global data.
Globally, these proportions have remained fairly constant over time. Even with theaddition of new data on vaccinations, cases, hospitalisations and deaths from WHO
data, these gender differences have remained stable.
This distribution varies along the pathway, with more women than men getting tested
for COVID-19 and more women than men having received two doses of COVID-19
vaccines. Men and women accounting for similar proportions of individuals receiving atleast one vaccination dose and of confirmed cases. The gender gap grows further along
the pathway, with men accounting for a higher proportion of hospitalisations (55%), ICU
admissions (63%) and deaths (57%) (Figure 5).
Proportions vary widely by country, but for individual countries these proportions arealso largely consistent through time. Country-data on each of these variables can be
explored here.

Figure 5. Gender differences along the COVID-19 clinical pathway, as of November 2021

COVID-19 Vaccinations: Dose definitions'At least one dose' refers to individuals who have received at least one dose of a COVID19 vaccine. This includes individuals who have received one dose of a two dose vaccine
as well as individuals who have received a single dose vaccine. Fully vaccinated refers
to individuals who have received all doses of required of their vaccine. This includes
individuals who have received two doses of a two dose vaccine and individuals who
have received a single dose of a single dose vaccine. Fully vaccinated individuals arecounted in both 'at least one dose' and 'fully vaccinated'.
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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Gender differences in COVID-19 vaccinations
Globally, with the integration of data from the WHO Coronavirus Vaccination Dashboard,
89 countries have provided the sex breakdown of individuals receiving COVID-19
vaccinations as of mid-November. Just two countries (India and Austria) reportvaccinations among non-binary people.
Sex-disaggregated data on individuals receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
Overall among the 89 countries with sex-disaggregated data on individuals who
received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, equal numbers of men and women
were vaccinated (50% male, 50% female). Most countries (63) reported 55%-45% ofrecipients of at least one dose of the vaccine being male. However, there were notable
outliers, for example Yemen reports 93% of individuals with at least one dose being malewhile Thailand reports 36% were male. Countries reporting unequal gender distributionsof individuals receiving at least one vaccination dose are shown in Figure 6. The fullcountry breakdown of data on vaccination distribution can be viewed here.

Figure 6. Vaccine Distribution, at least one dose, for Countries Reporting Unequal
Distributions by Sex, November 2021

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

For most countries providing the sex distribution for individuals who have received atleast one dose, the population coverage is nearly equal across the sexes. However,there are notable outliers, with five countries reporting coverage among males morethan 5% higher than among women. Additionally, seven countries report coverage
more than 5% higher among women than men. Figure 7 shows countries where
population coverage per 100 is 5% or more different between the sexes.

Figure 7. Vaccine Population Coverage, at Least One Dose, for Countries Reporting Vaccine
Coverage Different by at Least 5% by Sex, November 2021

Sex-disaggregated data on fully vaccinated individuals
Of the 89 countries providing vaccination data, 67 provide breakdowns of fully
vaccinated individuals by sex. Across these countries, 48% of fully vaccinatedindividuals are male and 52% are female.
The vast majority of countries report a nearly equal distribution, with 76% of countries(51/67) reporting distributions within 10% of each other. There are, however, someextreme outliers on both ends of the distribution, from Yemen, where 92% of fully
vaccinated individuals are male (a similar distribution for individuals receiving at least
one dose), to Australia, where 84% of fully vaccinated individuals are female(although we see a far more equal split of individuals receiving at least one dose; 51%
are female). Figure 8 presents the distribution of fully vaccinated individuals by sex
for countries reporting an unequal distribution.

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Figure 8. Vaccine Distribution, fully vaccinated/two doses, for Countries Reporting Unequal
Distributions by Sex, November 2021

Looking at population coverage of full vaccination, 91% of countries (61 out of 67) have
similar coverage for men and women (within 5%). Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Angilla,
report higher full vaccination coverage among men than women and the Republic of
Ireland, Barbados and Australia report higher full vaccination coverage among
women (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Vaccine Population Coverage, Fully Vaccinated, for Countries Reporting Vaccine
Coverage Different by at Least 5% by Sex, November 2021

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

Long Covid: Sex-disaggregated data
The Tracker has been searching for data on the sex distribution of ‘Long COVID’cases, or other indicators tracking extended or unresolved COVID-19 infections by sex.
Data on Long COVID, or similarly defined ailments, have only been found reportedly
publicly by sex for two countries: the United Kingdom and Sweden (although there
may however be further data that we have not yet found).
Sweden provides regular reports on individuals who have received a post-covid
illness diagnosis and individuals diagnosed with multisystemic inflammatory
condition associated with COVID by sex. The United Kingdom produces regular
reports that include an estimate of individuals in the United Kingdom living with selfreported long COVID within the past four weeks, in the past 12 weeks and within thepast 12 months by sex. Details on case definitions and data collection methods can befound in the respective sources. Long COVID reported in October 2021 is summarisedin the table below. Due to the lack of a standard definition for ‘long covid’ and therelative rarity of this data, it is not yet being integrated into our online dashboard.

Table 2. Long COVID Data for Men and Women for Sweden and United Kingdom

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COVID-19 SEX-DISAGGREGATED DATA TRACKER UPDATENOVEMBER 2021

About the COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker
The COVID-19 Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker is the world’s largest database of
sex-disaggregated data on COVID-19 health outcomes. The Tracker currently
collects sex-disaggregated data on vaccinations, testing, confirmed cases(including among health workers), hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths, aswell as by age for selected indicators. It is also tracking the availability of data
disaggregated by other social and demographic characteristics as well as data on
pre-existing comorbidities. Data is collected directly from official national sources,
including ministry of health websites, national statistics sites, death registers andgovernment social media accounts. The Tracker is updated every month.
About the Sex, Gender and COVID-19 Project
The Sex, Gender and COVID-19 Project is a partnership of Global Health 50/50, theInternational Center for Research on Women and the African Population and
Health Research Center. Together, these partners are investigating the roles sex
and gender are playing in the outbreak, building the evidence base of what works
to tackle gender disparities in COVID-19 health outcomes, and advocating foreffective gender-responsive approaches to COVID-19.

Learn more about sex, gender and COVID-19 and explore the Sex-Disaggregated
Data Tracker here: https://globalhealth5050.org/the-sex-gender-and-covid-19project/

For further information contact:
Anna Purdie, info@globalhealth5050.org
Abhishek Gautam, agautam@icrw.org
Sylvia Muyingo, smuyingo@aphrc.org

If you are aware of countries that are reporting data that we have not been able to locate orcollect, we would be grateful if you could make us aware by emailing us at
info@globalhealth5050.org and sharing a link to where the data can be found.

Engage with us:@Globalhlth5050@APHRC@ICRW

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