Impacts of social distancing, rapid antigen test and vaccination on the Omicron outbreak during large temperature variations in Hong Kong: A modelling study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The impacts of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and vaccine boosters on the transmission of the largest outbreak of COVID-19 (the fifth wave) in Hong Kong have not been reported. The outbreak, dominated by the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, began to spread substantially after the Spring Festival in February, 2022, when the temperature varied greatly (e.g. a cold surge event). Tightening social distancing measures did not succeed in containing the outbreak until later with the use of rapid antigen tests (RAT) and increased vaccination rates. Temperature has been previously found to have significant impact on the transmissibility. Understanding how the public health interventions influence the number of infections in this outbreak provide important insights on prevention

SUBMITTER: Yuan HY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9633629 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature