Modeling shield immunity to reduce COVID-19 transmission in long-term care facilities.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Nursing homes and long-term care facilities have experienced severe outbreaks and elevated mortality rates of COVID-19. When available, vaccination at-scale has helped drive a rapid reduction in severe cases. However, vaccination coverage remains incomplete among residents and staff, such that additional mitigation and prevention strategies are needed to reduce the ongoing risk of transmission. One such strategy is that of "shield immunity", in which immune individuals modulate their contact rates and shield uninfected individuals from potentially risky interactions.

Methods

Here, we adapt shield immunity principles to a network context, by using computational models to evaluate how restructured interactions between staff and residents affect SARS-CoV-2 epidemic dyna

SUBMITTER: Lucia-Sanz A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9639409 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature