PONE-D-20-35466

Spatial analysis of COVID-19 incidence and the sociodemographic context in Brazil

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Raymundo,

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Brecht Devleesschauwer

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: COMMENTS:

1) In Methods section of the abstract, it would be fitting to mention the time period in which the data were collected in.

2) In Results section I suggest to mention the motivation why only covariates listed in Table 1 were considered. I also suggest to use more uniform spacing in Table 1.

3) Position of the legend in Figure 2 and Figure 3 in Results section needs to be adjusted so its edges don’t disrupt the map.

4) Table 2 in Results section is exceeding the page size. In general, consider reporting values rounded to two decimals.

5) I find the Discussion section a bit incoherent. For instance, on lines 269-270 the authors report the finding that lower numbers in proportional mortality ratio suggest worse levels of quality of life and economic development. On the following lines (270-278), studies are reported that suggest the contrary. I would suggest to place author’s finding into the context of studies with similar finding, in addition to the study by Baqui et al. that mentions the ethnicity effect (lines 283-286). I would also suggest to include some references for the paragraph on lines 279-282.

6) I would suggest to elaborate more on the limitations of the study. For instance, what kind of bias can be introduced ‘by the limitations related to variations in the scope, types of testing and notification of cases between municipalities and over time’ (lines 309-311)?

Reviewer #2: The manuscript aimed to analyze the spatial distribution of COVID-19 incidence in Brazil’s municipalities (counties) and investigate its association with sociodemographic determinants to better understand the social context and the epidemic’s spread in the country. The study presents the results of original research. Experiments, statistics, and other analyses are performed to a high technical standard and are described in sufficient detail.

However, I understand that a minor revision needs to be carried out in order to add quality to the manuscript.

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Abstract:

The background does not represent the study proposal. In this section it may be interesting to better describe the spatial situation of COVID-19 in Brazil. Additionally, it is interesting to clarify what are the gaps to be filled by this investigation.

Introduction:

It is important to describe the socio-demographic measures and the inequality measures used in the studies that supported this investigation. Additionally, it is essential to explain what are the knowledge gaps and how the present manuscript intends to contribute on this topic.

Methods:

It is essential to explain the reasons for including variables in the analysis model. I understand that the variables on availability of health professionals in the analyzed territories (doctors and nurses) are another way of estimating inequalities in Brazilian municipalities. However, this option is not sufficiently explained in the manuscript.

Discussion:

Describe how the Brazilian findings can be used for other research scenarios in the world.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Spatial analysis of COVID-19 incidence and the sociodemographic context in Brazil

PONE-D-20-35466R1

Dear Dr. Raymundo,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Brecht Devleesschauwer

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: