Pandemics Epidemiology: The Efficacy of Long-Term Elimination Efforts: A Case Study on New Zealand’s SARS CoV-2 Assessment and Response

POSS Team: The COVIDneers (United States) 

Synopsis: COVID-19 impacted virtually every aspect of society – from social interactions and policymaking to public health and scientific collaboration. Whereas each country followed different paths to recovery, two main courses of action affected the efficacy of their response: short-term versus long-term sustainment of mitigation, documentation, and treatment efforts. This raised serious questions regarding the importance of early intervention and continuous monitoring, ultimately guiding this paper in its assessment of New Zealand’s trajectory throughout the pandemic. It specifically quantifies the effectiveness of NZ’s elimination strategy on the basis of spread of the disease, predictive trends, social disturbances, and vaccine development.

NOTE: This page is dedicated to displaying the work of this team’s independent study. It is not affiliated with the prestigious Pioneer Research Program or the Pioneer Research Journal. Please click here to read more about the Pioneer Open Summer Study (POSS)