Israeli University proposes new model to combat spread of COVID pandemic

By TPS

Ben Gurion University of the Negev announced that its scientists have constructed a model that policy makers can use to simulate their choices and find the optimal decisions about how to allocate vaccines and what sort of social distancing to mandate to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our model can tell you, for instance, whether it makes more sense to vaccinate the elderly and demand more social distancing from adults or vice versa,” said Dr. Shai Pilosof of the Department of Life Sciences in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

The scientists say that their new model can help calibrate vaccine deployment and social distancing. For example, according to their model, vaccinating the elderly and imposing social distancing mandates on adults is generally more effective than forcing the elderly to stay home and vaccinating the adults.

“The current COVID-19 global situation demands a multi-layered response. Vaccines are an essential component but it is clear that different contexts such as population characteristics and vaccine availability, together with the dynamic changes in disease spread, demand crucial decision-making on strategies and priorities. Our model can be applied by different countries to simulate and optimize responses,” said Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, chair of the Israeli Public Health Physicians Association and a member of the Israeli National Expert Committee on COVID19.