Math can improve flu vaccine, experts say

Mathematical modeling can improve the flu vaccine’s effectiveness, according to experts at Rice University—where one such model has existed for more than 15 years—and its Baker Institute for Public Policy. Michael Deem, the John W. Cox Professor of Biochemical and Genetic Engineering at Rice; Melia Bonomo, a Ph.D. candidate in physics and astronomy at the university; and Kirstin Matthews, a fellow in science and technology policy in the Center for Health and Biosciences at the Baker Institute, outlined their insights in a new policy brief, “Improving the Effectiveness of the Annual Flu Vaccine.” Seasonal influenza (flu) causes as many as 49 million illnesses and 79,000 deaths in the United States annually since 2010. To combat its impact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends all healthy children and adults obtain a flu vaccination every year. In 2017-18, 58 percent of healthy children (6 months to 17 years old) and only...