Age-structured non-pharmaceutical interventions for optimal control of COVID-19 epidemic.

ABSTRACT: In an epidemic, individuals can widely differ in the way they spread the infection depending on their age or on the number of days they have been infected for. In the absence of pharmaceutical interventions such as a vaccine or treatment, non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. physical or social distancing) are essential to mitigate the pandemic. We develop an original approach to identify the optimal age-stratified control strategy to implement as a function of the time since the onset of the epidemic. This is based on a model with a double continuous structure in terms of host age and time since infection. By applying optimal control theory to this model, we identify a solution that minimizes deaths and costs associated with the implementation of the control strategy itself. We also impl

SUBMITTER: Richard Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7963091 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature