Rapid emergence of free-riding behavior in new pediatric immunization programs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mathematical models have formalized how free-rider effects can threaten the stability of high vaccine coverage levels under established voluntary vaccination programs. However, little research has addressed the question of when free-riding begins to develop when a new vaccine is first introduced in a population.

Methodology/principal findings

Here, we combine a game theoretical model of vaccinating behavior with an age-structured compartmental model to analyze rational vaccinating behavior in the first years of a universal immunization program, where a new vaccine is free to all children of a specified age. The model captures how successive birth cohorts face different epidemiological landscapes that have been shaped by the vaccinating decisions of previous birth

SUBMITTER: Bauch CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2939872 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature