COVID-19 increased existing gender mortality gaps in high-income more than middle-income countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed men at much higher rates than women, as has been well documented, but these gender differences have varied by country income. These differences were the result of some combination of variation in gender patterns of infection rates and infection fatality rates across countries. The gender gap in mortality declined in high-income countries in 2021, likely as a result of the faster rollout of vaccination against COVID-19.