A Global Study of Screening Intensity and Economic Status on Epidemic
Control Performance During Various Epidemic Periods of COVID-19 Mutant
Strains
Abstract
This study analyzed global data and provides insights how economic
conditions in various countries associate with epidemic control measures
during different epidemic periods by mutant strains. In this study, the
elasticity coefficient is estimated through a log-log model, which
represents the percent change of the confirmed case number with respect
to a percent change of the total number of screening tests in a country
for epidemic control. The elasticity estimate was used to show the
effectiveness of epidemic control by community screening. The 7-day
rolling data of screening tests and confirmed cases from the Our World
in Data (OWID) database for the pandemic periods of Alpha strain in
2020, Delta strain in 2021, and Omicron strain in 2022, suggests that
the magnitude of the elasticity was associated with the economic
condition of a country. Compared with the result s during
either Alpha - or Delta- pandemic period, the Omicron pandemic
has a much higher estimated elasticity coefficient of 1.317 (Alpha:
0.827 and Delta: 0.885). Further comparison of economic conditions that
were classified by quartile ranges, the result reveals the elasticity in
countries with GDP per capita between $11,354 and $26,651 or GDP per
capita above $26,651 is statistically significantly lower than that in
countries having GDP per capita below $3,335. The findings of this
study imply that the performance of epidemic control in a country is not
only dependent on epidemiological measures applied, but is also
influenced by the economic condition of a country.