About the Course
Welcome to ‘Science Matters: Let’s Talk about COVID-19’, from the Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA) at Imperial College London.
The outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is the most significant public health emergency of the 21st century so far. As the epidemic spreads, people around the world want to understand the science behind the most pressing questions: how many people have been infected? How dangerous is the virus? When will a vaccine be available?
How can the epidemic be contained, and the damages mitigated? What is the economic impact? What’s the role of social media and local communities in the epidemic response? Researchers at J-IDEA and other research institutes at Imperial College London have been at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19 emergency, with clinical, epidemiological and social science analyses informing the outbreak response.
They are generating robust empirical evidence that governments and international agencies are using around the world to plan their responses. On this course, you will hear directly from our world-class experts about the theory behind the analyses of COVID-19 and its spread, while learning how to interpret new information using core principles of public health, epidemiology, medicine, health economics, and social science. You will be able to watch regular situation reports about the state of the epidemic, provided by the researchers of J-IDEA and its director Professor Neil Ferguson.
Syllabus
Introduction to Science Matters: Let’s talk about COVID-19: Join us to learn more about the science underpinning the analyses of the novel coronavirus pandemic, now referred to as COVID-19.
COVID-19 Situation Reports: Updates on the Ongoing State of the Epidemic: This module will include regular updates about the current state of the epidemic from the leading researchers of the Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics (J-IDEA) and the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis (MRC GIDA), including Prof Neil Ferguson. Don’t forget to check out the Sit. Reps discussion forum.
How to Forecast an Epidemic: Epidemiology and Infectious Disease Modelling: This module will cover a number of the essential principles of epidemiology and infectious disease modelling. You will hear from our experts who will explain the basic reproductive number is used to understand transmissibility, about how the case fatality rate is estimated, how phylogenetic analysis can be used to understand the epidemiology of COVID 19 and about the relative sensitivity of international COVID-19 surveillance.
Health Systems and Economic Impacts: This module covers a number of the principles of health systems and health economics within the context of epidemics. You will learn about capacity planning, and the concepts of efficiency and opportunity cost in economics and be able to apply these concepts using the J-IDEA Pandemic Hospital Planner tool, found in the further learning section.
Community Engagement and Response: This module will cover the importance of community engagement, drawing on lessons learned from previous outbreaks such as Ebola. You will also learn about the impact of misinformation ‘infodemics’.
The Virology of COVID-19: In this module, we’ll discuss the virology of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. We will cover the general structure of the virus, its genetics and its process of replication.
The Clinical Presentations of COVID-19: In this module, we’ll discuss the clinical aspects of COVID-19 from diagnosis of mild symptoms to how it manifests in the lungs and throughout the body in more severe illness.
To enroll for this course, click the link below.
Course on Science Matters- Let’s Talk About COVID-19.
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