Publication Date

9-10-2021

Description

In this study, we simulate an influenza epidemic that considers the effects of waning immunity by fitting epidemiological models to CDC secondary historical data aggregated on a weekly basis, and derive the transmission rates at which susceptible individuals become infected over the course of the influenza season. Using a system of differential equations, we define four groups of individuals in a population: susceptible, vaccinated, infected, and recovered. We show that a larger number of initially infected individuals might not only bring the influenza season to an end sooner but also reduce the epidemic size. Moreover, any influenza virus that entails a faster recovery rate does not necessarily lead to a smaller epidemic size.

Journal

Medicine

Volume

100

Issue

36

First Page

e27169

Department

Analytics & Operations Management

Second Department

Analytics & Operations Management

DOI

10.1097/MD.0000000000027169

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