The novel diseases that emerged at the end of 2019 and was caused by SARS-CoV-2 are characterized by rapid spread worldwide due to relatively open borders and opportunity for free movement, high incidence rates, rather high fatality rates. More than a year has passed since the beginning of the pandemic, and today there is quite a lot of information about this infection, but at the same time several questions remain poorly studied, for example, concerning peculiarities of the course of the epidemic process (reservoir, mechanisms, way, factors of transfer, peculiarities of age-gender characteristics, mortality, fatality). The age-gender characteristics of disease incidence among the population are among the most important components of the epidemic process since they represent the country’s economic level, living conditions, health situation, timely preventive measures, etc. The demographic shifts (ageing of population, birth rate) determine the age structure of the affected people in any country. Habits, lifestyle and behaviour of people play a great role in the spread of infection among various population groups and channels of infection. The incidence data by age and gender is necessary for a more comprehensive assessment of the epidemiological situation and establishing the epidemiologic diagnosis to improve disease control efforts.
The object of research is, based on systematization of the available reference data on the age-gender characteristics of disease incidence among population, mortality and fatality, to draw up interim epidemiological characteristics of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19 to understand the infection transfer, and form offers for developing a system of preventive and disease control efforts, including for developing the measures aimed at reducing the infection transfer among the population in general, since the age plays a decisive role in the infection transfer.
The bibliographic databases PubMed and e-library.ru provide the selected references published from 2019 to 2021 by the following keywords: coronavirus infection, SARS-CoV-2, disease, epidemiology, mortality, spread, disease severity.