Four teams of researchers focused on COVID-19 related data analysis and modeling received grants from the University of California Health and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) COVID Modeling Consortium, an innovative consortium launched last year to ensure public health policy makers have timely, relevant analysis and insights to support pandemic-related decision making.

The areas of focus for the funding were driven by priorities set by CDPH for gaining deeper understanding of COVID-19 matters, such as disease detection and impact, virus transmission and behavior, mitigation strategies, and social and behavioral considerations.

The studies selected for the grants are designed to provide insights on COVID-19 related challenges such as forecasting, understanding disease risk for Black populations, effectiveness of K-12 school mitigation strategies, and disparities in COVID-19 vaccination acceptance. The research proposals, which together received approximately $236,000 in funding, are:

• A study to improve accuracy and precision of COVID-19 forecasts and scenarios through analysis of inputs from multiple data sources by UC Irvine investigators, including Statistics Professor Vladimir Minin.

Read the full story on UC Health.