Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed gaps in our understanding of epidemic dynamics and the shortcomings of traditional models in real-world scenarios, particularly in comprehending herd immunity. This presentation will focus on how the structure of contact networks affects disease spread and intervention effectiveness. I will highlight the impact of pharmaceutical interventions like vaccination and non-pharmaceutical measures such as contact tracing on epidemic trajectories, considering factors like behavior-based homophily, group structures, spatial characteristics, and heterogeneities of contact networks. I will specifically discuss how herd immunity is influenced by the contact patterns between people in a non-trivial way. 

Abstract: I’m a Network Epidemiologist who moonlights as a science writer for the public. I mainly contribute to science communication as the editor-in-chief of sitpor.org (FA). In this part of my talk, using my experiences, I will reflect on the situation of science communication in the network science community. I’ll discuss the opportunities and materials severely lacking at all levels such as the educational material for grad students and laypeople.