In March 2020, COVID-19 was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to its widespread global dissemination. Even after the end of the public health emergency, the disease continues to impact the population of Rio Grande do Sul. This study aimed to analyze the evolution of incidence, hospitalizations, and mortality due to COVID-19 in the state between 2023 and 2025. Retrospective descriptive study based on COVID-19 data from SIVEP-Gripe (SARI Panel) and the Ministry of Health. Incidence indicators (cases per 100,000 inhabitants), hospitalizations, deaths, and mortality between 2023 and 2025 were analyzed. Considering the first 26 weeks of 2023 and 2025, COVID-19 showed a marked reduction in Rio Grande do Sul. Hospitalizations decreased by 83.1% and deaths by 88.1%. Mortality decreased from 4.7 to 0.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2025, despite the sustained decline, 361 hospitalizations and 61 deaths were still recorded. Overall, 49.8% of hospitalizations and 52.5% of deaths occurred in males. The age groups with the highest number of events were 60 to 79 years. In 2025, vaccination coverage in the population of Rio Grande do Sul for two doses was 87.27%, and 55.5% for three doses. COVID-19 showed a consistent downward trend between 2023 and 2025, but it still persists with an impact on risk groups, especially older adults. The continued occurrence of deaths reinforces the importance of updating vaccination schedules and maintaining continuous surveillance. Improvements in indicators reflect the advancement of population immunity, the impact of vaccination campaigns, and possibly the lower aggressiveness of circulating variants. To consolidate this progress, it is essential to maintain epidemiological surveillance, encourage annual vaccination, and prepare the health system to respond to potential seasonal epidemics, especially during months of higher viral circulation.
Oliveira et al. (Sun,) studied this question.