## Assessment of the Effectiveness of Omicron Transmission Mitigation Strategies for European Universities Using an Agent-Based Network Model

2022
Lasser, Jana
Hell, Timotheus
Journal article
Published
##### Published in
Clinical Infectious Diseases ; 75 (2022), 12. - pp. 2097-2103. - Oxford University Press. - ISSN 1058-4838. - eISSN 1537-6591
##### Abstract
Background
Returning universities to full on-campus operations while the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is ongoing has been a controversial discussion in many countries. The risk of large outbreaks in dense course settings is contrasted by the benefits of in-person teaching. Transmission risk depends on a range of parameters, such as vaccination coverage and efficacy, number of contacts, and adoption of nonpharmaceutical intervention measures. Owing to the generalized academic freedom in Europe, many universities are asked to autonomously decide on and implement intervention measures and regulate on-campus operations. In the context of rapidly changing vaccination coverage and parameters of the virus, universities often lack sufficient scientific insight on which to base these decisions.

Methods
To address this problem, we analyzed a calibrated, data-driven agent-based simulation of transmission dynamics among 13 284 students and 1482 faculty members in a medium-sized European university. Wed use a colocation network reconstructed from student enrollment data and calibrate transmission risk based on outbreak size distributions in education institutions. We focused on actionable interventions that are part of the already existing decision process of universities to provide guidance for concrete policy decisions.

Results
Here we show that, with the Omicron variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, even a reduction to 25% occupancy and universal mask mandates are not enough to prevent large outbreaks, given the vaccination coverage of about 85% reported for students in Austria.

Conclusions
Our results show that controlling the spread of the virus with available vaccines in combination with nonpharmaceutical intervention measures is not feasible in the university setting if presence of students and faculty on campus is required.
320 Politics
##### Keywords
COVID-19, modeling, Prevention, network, agend-based
##### Cite This
ISO 690LASSER, Jana, Timotheus HELL, David GARCIA, 2022. Assessment of the Effectiveness of Omicron Transmission Mitigation Strategies for European Universities Using an Agent-Based Network Model. In: Clinical Infectious Diseases. Oxford University Press. 75(12), pp. 2097-2103. ISSN 1058-4838. eISSN 1537-6591. Available under: doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac340
BibTex
@article{Lasser2022Asses-59772,
year={2022},
doi={10.1093/cid/ciac340},
title={Assessment of the Effectiveness of Omicron Transmission Mitigation Strategies for European Universities Using an Agent-Based Network Model},
number={12},
volume={75},
issn={1058-4838},
journal={Clinical Infectious Diseases},
pages={2097--2103},
author={Lasser, Jana and Hell, Timotheus and Garcia, David}
}

RDF
<rdf:RDF
xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
xmlns:bibo="http://purl.org/ontology/bibo/"
xmlns:dspace="http://digital-repositories.org/ontologies/dspace/0.1.0#"
xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"
xmlns:void="http://rdfs.org/ns/void#"
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" >
<dc:creator>Lasser, Jana</dc:creator>
<void:sparqlEndpoint rdf:resource="http://localhost/fuseki/dspace/sparql"/>
<dcterms:abstract xml:lang="eng">Background&lt;br /&gt;Returning universities to full on-campus operations while the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is ongoing has been a controversial discussion in many countries. The risk of large outbreaks in dense course settings is contrasted by the benefits of in-person teaching. Transmission risk depends on a range of parameters, such as vaccination coverage and efficacy, number of contacts, and adoption of nonpharmaceutical intervention measures. Owing to the generalized academic freedom in Europe, many universities are asked to autonomously decide on and implement intervention measures and regulate on-campus operations. In the context of rapidly changing vaccination coverage and parameters of the virus, universities often lack sufficient scientific insight on which to base these decisions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Methods&lt;br /&gt;To address this problem, we analyzed a calibrated, data-driven agent-based simulation of transmission dynamics among 13 284 students and 1482 faculty members in a medium-sized European university. Wed use a colocation network reconstructed from student enrollment data and calibrate transmission risk based on outbreak size distributions in education institutions. We focused on actionable interventions that are part of the already existing decision process of universities to provide guidance for concrete policy decisions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Results&lt;br /&gt;Here we show that, with the Omicron variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, even a reduction to 25% occupancy and universal mask mandates are not enough to prevent large outbreaks, given the vaccination coverage of about 85% reported for students in Austria.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Conclusions&lt;br /&gt;Our results show that controlling the spread of the virus with available vaccines in combination with nonpharmaceutical intervention measures is not feasible in the university setting if presence of students and faculty on campus is required.</dcterms:abstract>
<dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/59772/1/Lasser_2-1fuf0jupn7ay75.pdf"/>
<dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/42"/>
<dspace:isPartOfCollection rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/42"/>
<dc:contributor>Garcia, David</dc:contributor>
<dc:contributor>Lasser, Jana</dc:contributor>
<dc:rights>terms-of-use</dc:rights>
<dc:creator>Hell, Timotheus</dc:creator>
<dcterms:issued>2022</dcterms:issued>
<dcterms:title>Assessment of the Effectiveness of Omicron Transmission Mitigation Strategies for European Universities Using an Agent-Based Network Model</dcterms:title>
<dc:creator>Garcia, David</dc:creator>
<dcterms:available rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2023-01-18T09:47:49Z</dcterms:available>
<dcterms:rights rdf:resource="https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/"/>
<dc:contributor>Hell, Timotheus</dc:contributor>
<dc:date rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2023-01-18T09:47:49Z</dc:date>
<bibo:uri rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/handle/123456789/59772"/>
<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
<dspace:hasBitstream rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/59772/1/Lasser_2-1fuf0jupn7ay75.pdf"/>
<foaf:homepage rdf:resource="http://localhost:8080/"/>
</rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>

Yes
Yes