 "Decoded: SIR Model to herd immunity, making sense of pandemic jargon")
Prior to Covid-19, most people had not heard of epidemiology. Epidemiologists use maths and data to examine health-related variables (not just diseases — they also look at diet, lifestyle, tobacco use, alcohol use, etc). They make projections about the future course of diseases. Like all academic disciplines, epidemiology has its own jargon. The models and underlying assumptions are rarely explained. Here’s an attempt to make sense of some of the jargon.
SIR Model: The “Susceptibility Infected Recovered” (SIR) Model is commonly used. At the inception of a new disease, SIR assumes everyone who isn’t already infected is “Susceptible”. The
SIR Model: The “Susceptibility Infected Recovered” (SIR) Model is commonly used. At the inception of a new disease, SIR assumes everyone who isn’t already infected is “Susceptible”. The
