Based on the transmission rate data, a group of researchers have developed an easy-to-use, reliable model and dashboard to predict the number of daily COVID-19 cases.
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Accurate COVID-19 incidence forecasting has been the focus for much research since the start of the pandemic. Biostatistics researchers from the Texas A&M School of Public Health have used the SEIR (susceptible, exposed, infected and recovered states) framework to create a model projecting the number of COVID-19 cases over the two to three-week period (Zhao et al. 2021). The projections are based on observed incidence cases only, which the model adjusts to three scenarios, that is of the constant rate of transmission, increased by 5%, or decreased by 5%.
The model uses data on new reported cases from the publicly available
sources, such as the COVID-19 Data Repository at the Johns Hopkins University, for
COVID-19 transmission rate predictions at both the state and county level.
To evaluate the model, the researchers benchmarked its projections against four
periods in 2020, namely 15 April, 15 June, 15 August and 15 October. When
applied at the state level, the modelled data deviated from the recorded incidence
only in one case, which may be attributed to a sharp increase in numbers at
that particular time. At the county level, the model’s performance was as well
satisfactory.
While the outcomes are heavily dependent on the specifics of the source data,
the authors argue that the model is capable of making sufficiently accurate and
reliable surge projections in the short term. It has been incorporated into a dashboard
that generates projections on a daily basis for the next couple of weeks. Its
ease of use, according to the researchers, allows for the model to be implemented
with relatively low resources to inform public health decisions such as mask
mandates, and plan for surges.
Source: Texas
A&M University
Image credit: Zhao et al. (2021)