Impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on the medical activities of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene, Vatican City State

During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical activities in Vatican City State experienced significant disruption, with a 22.4% decline in procedures from 2019 to 2020. The most pronounced reductions occurred during the lockdown period (March–May 2020), where general/emergency activities dropped by 61.1%, specialty consultations by 85.3%, radiology examinations by 95.8%, and diagnostic procedures by 96.5%. While nearly all specialties saw a decrease, legal medicine, psychiatry, and angiology experienced increases. Despite the challenges, rapid organizational adaptations enabled near-normal recovery of medical services post-lockdown.

Ralli, M., Arcangeli, A., Soave, P. M., Carbone, L., Ercoli, L., & De‐Giorgio, F. (2021). Impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on the medical activities of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene, Vatican City State. Journal of Internal Medicine, 290(1), 213–219. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13251