In collaboration with Benjamin Lopman‘s group at Emory University, our recent work entitled “A framework for monitoring population immunity to SARS-CoV-2” was published in Annals of Epidemiology. The proposed framework suggests combining records of vaccinations and natural infections to assess immunity to Covid-19 at the population level. A dashboard was also created to track estimates of population immunity at the state level.

In collaboration with researchers from Georgia Tech, Brown University, and the Technical University of Denmark, Prof Weitz has published a new paper entitled “Heterogeneity in susceptibility dictates the order of epidemic models” in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. This work examines the complicated relationship between susceptibility to infection and infection spread in epidemics, highlighting the need to “examine the shape of susceptibility in natural populations” to improve epidemic models.

A paper entitled “Disease-dependent interaction policies to support health and economic outcomes during the Covid-19 epidemic” is now available in iScience.

This study examines the effectiveness of modulating the rate of interaction between individuals based on the epidemic state in mitigating Covid-19. Results demonstrate that using population-wide PCR testing for Covid-19 alongside immune status “can reduce COVID-19 transmission while enabling more individuals to return-to-work sooner and with fewer restrictions than would otherwise be possible.” Authors include Guanlin Li, Shaswat Shivam, collaborators Michael Hochberg and Yorai Wardi, and Prof. Weitz.

Click here to learn more about our other Covid-19 research.

How does awareness of an epidemic influence the number of fatalities? Our paper exploring an awareness-driven behavior model of Covid-19 was recently published in PNAS. Read more here.