Grant agreement between Hasselt University and Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V. (R-11873)

The spread of respiratory infections such as RSV, SARS-Cov-2, influenza and others is shaped by individuals' social contact behavior. Data on social contacts is utmost valuable in modelling and exploring the evolution of disease spread (see Hoang et al., 2019 for review). Mathematical models are useful tools to assess the impact of interventions. Moreover, they provide insights for policymakers balancing between non-pharmaceutical interventions and opening up economies during vaccine roll-out. As part of the H2020 EpiPose project coordinated by Hasselt University, a large-scale data collection initiative was implemented in about 20 European countries. This so-called CoMix study provides timely, protracted survey data on contact mixing (CoMix) behaviour in Belgium and other countries. The CoMix study captures behavioral changes during a pandemic situation. The Research Program Grant aims to extend the CoMix data collection in Belgium in the period March 2021 – March 2022 to gain further insights in how people adapt their contact behavior in relation to changing COVID-19 measures and vaccination roll-out. We will use this longitudinal survey data to shape statistical and/or mathematical models of transmission dynamics of respiratory infections. Janssen Vaccines & Prevention BV financially supports the data collection of this project.

Keywords:COVID-19, disease transmission, social mixing behaviour

Disciplines:Statistics, Infectious diseases, Biostatistics, Epidemiology