Episode suggestion: vaccine comparisons

[adamkucharski]

We now have an episode on comparison of NPIs, but a useful follow-up will be comparison of vaccine strategies. Building on the vignette for vaccine interventions and comparisons of NPIs, this would allow a few different learning objectives to potentially be addressed:

• Understanding of age-stratified burden and trade offs with transmission, making use of new_infections to generate hospitalisations/deaths (I don't think we've got this currently, but may be wrong). For example, could show optimal targeting varies for COVID J-shape mortality vs W- or U-shaped pandemic flu.
• Understanding of direct vs indirect effects (i.e. why infection-blocking vaccines have two benefits, in reducing individual risk and onwards contribution to transmission)
• Lead in to a follow-up episode on health economics and DALYs averted

We could also consider an example looking at trade off of early vaccination vs NPIs, inspired by this recent paper on 100 days mission.

But keen to hear thoughts on what else might work!

[amanda-minter]

For example, could show optimal targeting varies for COVID J-shape mortality vs W- or U-shaped pandemic flu.

I really like this idea, though I don't believe there is currently a model in {epidemics} with age specific infection induced mortality. We could show mortality patterns arising from age specific contact patterns with the Vacamole model (which has infection induced mortality) but not from higher risk of mortality from age. Adding age specific infection induced mortality could be a nice motivating example for #55 ?

We could also consider an example looking at trade off of early vaccination vs NPIs, inspired by this recent paper on 100 days mission.

I think this would work well as a follow on from the intervention episodes, and onto a health economics episode.