Prof. Julia Gog (University of Cambridge)

Using mathematics to understand pandemic strategies

Abstract:
The years of the COVID-19 pandemic brought a world of difficult decisions for individuals and for governments, and of course many arguments about what was the right thing to do. Many disagreements were based on balancing different forms of harm, either from complex human judgements here, and mathematics can give us a useful framework to consider what strategies were available. These tools can help us all when we face future disease threats, both individually and collectively.