Epidemiology of COVID-19

 COVID-19 is something we have been dealing with now for over a year. This respiratory illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome has now spread to multiple countries. The pace at which the disease spread in the last 4 months, since it was first recognized from China, is unprecedented. While countries such as China, Italy, and the United States have particularly high-rates of infection, the disease is gradually spreading in India as well, threatening the health and economy of the country.

In the article “How Epidemiology has Shaped the COVID Pandemic” by TJ Wu, he explains how important epidemiology is. This tactic is essential to figure out why diseases spread. He states, “Analyses of data on infections and deaths, and projections from studies that model the virus’s spread, have driven policy decisions all over the world”. Therefore, data is gathered throughout the world and people are able to analyze these things and make it known to the public about what is going on with these diseases.

 

Overall, they also highlight how epidemiology will be important as the pandemic progresses — for example, in understanding the potential impact of the new variants that are currently wreaking havoc around the world. Epidemiology is changing the course of the pandemic, but the coronavirus has stress-tested epidemiology as well.

 

Lara Pereira (8) 

“How Epidemiology Has Shaped the Covid Pandemic.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 27 Jan. 2021, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00183-z.