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About

Pandemics by nature present concern because of their ability to affect large numbers of people in an intense manner and across multiple geographic regions. The current COVID-19 pandemic has had globally significant health, societal and economic impacts that have been ongoing since early 2020. Controlling the trajectory of COVID-19 has required countries to implement a combination and range of public health strategies — with varying degrees of success.

As pandemic planning previously focussed on the characteristics of influenza viruses, pandemic responses had to be rapidly re-orientated to the characteristics of COVID-19. The use of scientific evidence, data and modelling has been integral in guiding public health and health systems decisions for Australia and many other countries.

This thesis will examine the applicability of previous pandemic planning assumptions to the epidemiology and public health response for COVID-19. It will evaluate the role of surveillance and modelling during the COVID-19 response, particularly in Australia, and identify key evidence requirements to enhance public health decision making during future pandemics.

Bio

Kate Pennington is a Sir Roland Wilson scholar and a PhD candidate within the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at ANU. She has worked as an epidemiologist to support evidence-based public health response policies and programs across government for various communicable diseases, including COVID-19 and influenza. She has research interests in epidemiology and public health, particularly in the area of communicable disease control and pandemic planning, both nationally and globally.