Researchers from UVA’s Biocomplexity Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Science, working with a team of multi-disciplinary scientists from around the world, have spent the last two years developing highly advanced computational models designed to inform policy makers, save lives and prepare for future global epidemics.
When the coronavirus reached Virginia, public health officials worried there would be so many patients, they would need to start building field hospitals right away. But a team of University of Virginia scientists, part of the Biocomplexity Institute, told the state to wait. The governor’s stay-at-home order, quarantines and social distancing that began in March 2020 could slow the disease’s spread.
Stephen Eubank, deputy director in the Network Systems Science and Advanced Computing division of the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute, has been named a 2021-2022 Jefferson Science Fellow.
Bryan Lewis and Stephen Eubank share their experiences mentoring Caitlin Rivers, a young epidemiologist helping to inform policy.
The true number of COVID-19 cases around the world is roughly 12 times the official count, and the number of deaths is 50 percent greater, according to a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers, who contend that a swifter response could have prevented one-third of fatalities.
As the COVID-19 global health crisis continues to unfurl worldwide, the questions around global pandemics are no longer “if” they will occur, but how frequent, widespread, and severe those that come next will become.
While vaccination is the primary and most effective way to prevent sickness and death caused by flu, the CDC reports that less than 40 percent of Americans age 18 and older typically receive a flu shot. This begs the question: what additional mitigation and prevention methods might improve the public health response and policy development for the flu?