Meteorological factors and SARS-CoV-2 transmission
Join us for this two-part seminar from the LSHTM Centre of Statistical Methodology.
“Meteorological factors and SARS-CoV-2 transmission; methodological challenges and evidence from global studies” - Dr Francesco Sera, LSHTM
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread across the globe, traversing diverse climatic and environmental conditions. From the early phase of the pandemic, there has been speculation that weather conditions could modulate SARS-CoV-2 transmission patterns. In the talk, Dr Sera will present the current evidence and methodological challenges on evaluating potential drivers of COVID-19 seasonality. He will also present the results of two global studies based on an extensive city-level dataset, collected by the Multi-Country Multi-City (MCC) Collaborative Research Network, where they studied the relationship between weather conditions and COVID-19 spread using ecological and time-series designs.
“Susceptibility, climate and the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic” - Dr Rachel Baker, Princeton University
Many viral diseases have seasonal peaks in cases likely driven by the climate factors, for example, wintertime outbreaks of influenza. However, there has not been a clear climate signature in the geographic and temporal spread of SARS-CoV-2, with large outbreaks occurring in both tropical and temperate environments, as well as in the summer months. We show that high population susceptibility, i.e. lack of immunity, likely limits the role of climate in pandemic settings. The signature of climate will likely become increasingly apparent as immunity builds, but the emergence of new variants complicates the picture.
Speakers
Dr Francesco Sera, LSHTM and Dr Rachel Baker, Princeton University
Please note that the recording link will be listed on this page when available
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