“As with any kind of modeling, the details of the model should align with its objectives and with questions it is intended to address. With the pandemic, these objectives and questions started simply but evolved:

1. How bad is the spread of infection likely to be?

2. Can we use simple travel restrictions to prevent the disease coming to our region?

3. How many people are going to end up in hospital or die?

4. Are we going to be short on critical hospital capacity like ventilators and PPE?

5. Are the infections affecting some population groups much more than others?

6. If so, what are the most important characteristics of these groups?

7. How is the virus evolving genetically?

8. What is the likely benefit of a given intervention, such as mask mandates, lockdowns, closures, or offering vaccinations first to priority populations?

9. What are the potential economic and social harms for each of these interventions?

This list of questions is not exhaustive but provides criteria for evaluating modeling efforts. The questions at the end of the list are the most challenging and were least addressed during the pandemic.”  (Wolfson, 2024) [1]