Are we really all in this together? The social patterning of mortality during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium

Abstract Background Belgium was one of the countries that was struck hard by COVID-19. Initially, the belief was that we were ‘all in it together’. Emerging evidence showed however that deprived socioeconomic groups suffered disproportionally. Yet, few studies are available for Belgium. The main question addressed in this paper is whether excess mortality during the first COVID-19 wave followed a social gradient and whether the classic mortality gradient was reproduced. Methods We used nationwide individually linked data from the Belgian National Register and the Census 2011. Age-standardized... Mehr ...