Game Dynamic Model of Optimal Budget Allocation under Individual Vaccination Choice

Publication date: Available online 20 March 2019Source: Journal of Theoretical BiologyAuthor(s): Aniruddha Deka, Samit BhattacharyyaAbstractCommunicable diseases are leading cause of child mortality in developing and under-developed countries. Public health ministries in states and country allocate a considerable amount of budget every year for vaccination campaigns to control infections. Even third-party agencies such as Gates Foundation, UNDP, GAVI, World Bank, WHO also allocate huge funds to under-developed and developing countries for vaccination programs and disease eliminations. However, economic constraints and current disease prevalence are not enough driving factors for optimal decisions in budget allocations for vaccinations and controlling the disease. In a population under voluntary vaccination campaign, high vaccine coverage cannot be taken for granted, as individuals’ free-riding behaviour plays a significant role in achieving the herd immunity level coverage. Individual-level vaccine exemptions and ignoring this important component by the policymakers are key determinants for failure of disease elimination program these days in many under-developed and developing countries. We integrate evolutionary game theory and compartmental model of disease transmission to analyze how individual vaccination choice influence the budget allocations and vice-versa. Our model illustrates that individuals’ perceived risk plays an important role in optimal budget allocations...
Source: Journal of Theoretical Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: research