Abstract
In consideration of the importance and scope of epidemiology on SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID-19), essential aspects are conveyed regarding how to improve vaccine confidence through awareness and education. Further, from a natural history context, the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and spread throughout the world. As a result, governments and organizations experienced challenges managing the pandemic. Explained are characteristics of the COVID-19 epidemiological approach. For example, the utilization of epidemiological studies is performed to obtain rates and probability of occurrence. Reviewed are the use of epidemiology in determining COVID-19 causality, the health status of the population, delivery of services, program planning, and social policy.
TopBackground
Epidemiology
The study of disease transmission or epidemiology is a term that provides an understanding of its importance. The study of disease transmission originates from the Greek words epi (upon) + demos (individuals) + logy (investigation of) (Friis & Dealers, 2014). The study of disease transmission is concerned with the incidence, conveyance, and determinants of healthcare-related instances. Epidemiologic investigations are applied to contain medical issues in populations (Friis & Dealers, 2014). The central aspects of the epidemiological definition are determinants, distribution, population, and health care delivery.
The study of disease transmission examines disease among population groups rather than individuals (Jin et al., 2020). Thus, epidemiology is the study of disease transmission as an interdisciplinary field; the study of disease transmission draws from biostatistics, the social and behavioral sciences, and natural history just as from the therapeutically related fields, for example, toxicology, pathology, virology, hereditary qualities, microbiology, and clinical medicine (Friis & Venders, 2014; Kakodkar et al., 2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Epidemiology: The study of disease in population with regards to epidemiologic investigations are applied to the containment of medical issues in populations (Friis & Dealers, 2014 AU66: The in-text citation "Friis & Dealers, 2014" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Virology: Virology is the scientific discipline that studies the biology of viruses and viral diseases, including spreading, biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, evolution, and clinical aspects of viruses ( Jin et al., 2020 ).
COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2): The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) became a global pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 ( Jin et al., 2020 ).
Vaccine Confidence: Heightening COVID-19 prevention strategies to include screening programs for the detection of COVID-19 based on criteria such as sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value ( Zhang et al., 2020 ).