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How Can Vaccines Be Used to Fight Outbreaks?

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Summary

Areas of Science
Difficulty
 
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Credits
Sandra Slutz, PhD, Science Buddies
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Abstract

Stopping a viral outbreak like COVID-19 takes more than luck, it takes public health tools. Vaccines are considered to be one of the best public health tools, which is why there is often a rush to develop good vaccines for newly discovered viruses, particularly those that have the potential to infect lots of people. Recent examples include COVID-19, Zika virus, and Ebola. If enough people are vaccinated, an effective vaccine can help stop outbreaks or even eradicate (completely get rid of) a viral disease. But how many people are "enough," and what determines if a vaccine is "effective"? Using SimPandemic, a free online tool for modeling infectious outbreaks, you can examine these and related questions.

Start by working your way through the Using Vaccines to Fight Outbreaks notebook at SimPandemic. By the time you come to the Sandbox section and start running your own simulations of outbreaks, you will see that there are many questions you can model and investigate. For example:

These are just a small sampling of the vaccine-related questions you can explore using SimPandemic. Give the tool a try and see what you can discover about how vaccines can be used to fight outbreaks.

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Global Connections

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

This project explores topics key to Good Health and Well-Being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Slutz, Sandra. "How Can Vaccines Be Used to Fight Outbreaks?" Science Buddies, 22 Oct. 2020, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/HumBio_p049/human-biology-health/vaccines-fight-outbreaks-simpandemic. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

APA Style

Slutz, S. (2020, October 22). How Can Vaccines Be Used to Fight Outbreaks? Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/HumBio_p049/human-biology-health/vaccines-fight-outbreaks-simpandemic


Last edit date: 2020-10-22
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