Studies about women’s susceptibility to Covid-19, and women facing less severe Covid-19 symptoms than men, are doing rounds through media reports. Some studies also suggest that women who contract Covid-19 may have a higher relative-risk of succumbing to the infection in India.

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Seroprevalence survey done in various states answer a few questions raised by these studies. Comparisons of Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad’s SARS-CoV2 seroprevalence surveys show that the prevalence of Covid-19 was higher among women than men. Pune’s SARS-CoV2 seroprevalence survey, however, found almost no difference in the infection prevalence in men and women.

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Official Covid-19 numbers show that women detected to be Covid-positive by RT-PCR or antigen test were fewer in number compared to men.

The Indian Council for Medical Research conducted an analysis of over one million Covid-19 diagnostic tests that were conducted between January 22 and April 30. The analysis found that most Covid-19 positive samples belong to men, while comparatively fewer women were found to be tested for Covid-19 in the first place.

It must also be noted that globally, in most large countries, men outnumber women in terms of total Covid-19 cases that have been recorded. Figures by Global Health 50/50’s Covid-19 Sex-disaggregated Data Tracker and Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also showed that more men have died of Covid-19 than women in India as well as globally.

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A study published in the Journal of Global Health Science, presented an age and sex-specific view of mortality due to the disease using the measure of CFR, which is the ratio of confirmed deaths to total confirmed cases. The study found that the CFR among males is 2.9 per cent, while that for females it is 3.3 per cent in India.

Gender disadvantages that women face in India are instrumental in adding to the higher risk of mortality in females, says a study.

Based on the 2018 data from the office of the Registrar General of India, women made up just 40% of the total number of registered deaths and just 38% of them were medically certified deaths. Global Burden of Disease Study showed that globally, out of all registered deaths in 2016, 47% were female.

(With inputs from PTI)