Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33780443›Full record

ArticlePLoS computational biology2021

Pandemic velocity: Forecasting COVID-19 in the US with a machine learning & Bayesian time series compartmental model.

Gregory L Watson, Di Xiong, Lu Zhang, Joseph A Zoller, John Shamshoian, Phillip Sundin, Teresa Bufford, Anne W Rimoin, Marc A Suchard, Christina M Ramirez

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS computational biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. How Will AI Shape the Future of Pandemic Response? Early Clues From Data Analytics.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2025
    Review
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  19. Urban spatial risk prediction and optimization analysis of POI based on deep learning from the perspective of an epidemic.International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation : ITC journal · 2022
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Gregory L WatsonDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-7597-7359
Di XiongDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-5502-1464
Lu ZhangDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-6829-703X
Joseph A ZollerDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-6309-0291
John ShamshoianDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-7115-7174
Phillip SundinDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-2610-4644
Teresa BuffordDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-3915-9065
Anne W RimoinDepartment of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-0662-9067
Marc A SuchardDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-9818-479X
Christina M RamirezDepartment of Biostatistics, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-8435-0416

Funding

Technology CoreU19AI135995 · NIAID · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · PI Kristian Graugaard Andersen · 2018 to 2026
$32.0M
NIAID NIH HHS U19 AI135995NIH HHS AI135995
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Predictions of COVID-19 case growth and mortality are critical to the decisions of political leaders, businesses, and individuals grappling with the pandemic. This predictive task is challenging due to the novelty of the virus, limited data, and dynamic political and societal responses. We embed a Bayesian time series model and a random forest algorithm within an epidemiological compartmental model for empirically grounded COVID-19 predictions. The Bayesian case model fits a location-specific curve to the velocity (first derivative) of the log transformed cumulative case count, borrowing strength across geographic locations and incorporating prior information to obtain a posterior distribution for case trajectories. The compartmental model uses this distribution and predicts deaths using a random forest algorithm trained on COVID-19 data and population-level characteristics, yielding daily projections and interval estimates for cases and deaths in U.S. states. We evaluated the model by training it on progressively longer periods of the pandemic and computing its predictive accuracy over 21-day forecasts. The substantial variation in predicted trajectories and associated uncertainty between states is illustrated by comparing three unique locations: New York, Colorado, and West Virginia. The sophistication and accuracy of this COVID-19 model offer reliable predictions and uncertainty estimates for the current trajectory of the pandemic in the U.S. and provide a platform for future predictions as shifting political and societal responses alter its course.

Indexed as

Models, StatisticalSARS-CoV-2AlgorithmsBayes TheoremComputational BiologyCOVID-19ForecastingHumansMachine LearningPandemicsUnited States

Identifiers

PMID33780443
PMCPMC8031749

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.