Tarek Zohdi, University of California-Berkeley
The pandemic of 2020, due to SARS-CoV-2, named COVID-19 and referred to as coronavirus, has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths in 2020 alone. Literally overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an explosion of research in the area of modeling and simulation of infectious diseases. Without a doubt, it is probably the single most important health issue that has faced modern civilization-ever.
Objectives: Accordingly, this minisymposium will explore numerous aspects associated with this epoch-changing event that is now facing humanity. Contributions include, modeling and simulation of
• Disease propagation
• Decontamination protocols
• Immune-responses
• Logistical responses
• Political responses
Time is of essence. Today, policy decisions are being made with literally life or death consequences, and it our belief that modeling and simulation can play a key role in guiding these decisions. Thus, while we understand that definitive statements cannot be made at this time, we believe that modeling and simulation can help guide research toward concrete, tangible results in a timely fashion.