Optimization of Infectious Disease Intervention Measures Based on Reinforcement Learning -- Empirical analysis based on UK COVID-19 epidemic data

TL;DR

This paper develops a reinforcement learning framework integrated with an agent-based COVID-19 transmission model to optimize intervention strategies, demonstrating effectiveness in controlling epidemic spread and economic stability.

Contribution

It introduces a novel reinforcement learning approach combined with an individual-based transmission model, advancing beyond simplified models for more realistic epidemic intervention optimization.

Findings

Reinforcement learning strategies effectively suppress epidemic spread.

The framework maintains economic stability during interventions.

Experimental validation confirms model's robustness and feasibility.

Abstract

Globally, the outbreaks of infectious diseases have exerted an extremely profound and severe influence on health security and the economy. During the critical phases of epidemics, devising effective intervention measures poses a significant challenge to both the academic and practical arenas. There is numerous research based on reinforcement learning to optimize intervention measures of infectious diseases. Nevertheless, most of these efforts have been confined within the differential equation based on infectious disease models. Although a limited number of studies have incorporated reinforcement learning methodologies into individual-based infectious disease models, the models employed therein have entailed simplifications and limitations, rendering it incapable of modeling the complexity and dynamics inherent in infectious disease transmission. We establish a decision-making framework based on an individual agent-based transmission model, utilizing reinforcement learning to continuously explore and develop a strategy function. The framework's validity is verified through both experimental and theoretical approaches. Covasim, a detailed and widely used agent-based disease transmission model, was modified to support reinforcement learning research. We conduct an exhaustive exploration of the application efficacy of multiple algorithms across diverse action spaces. Furthermore, we conduct an innovative preliminary theoretical analysis concerning the issue of "time coverage". The results of the experiment robustly validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the methodological framework of this study. The coping strategies gleaned therefrom prove highly efficacious in suppressing the expansion of the epidemic scale and safeguarding the stability of the economic system, thereby providing crucial reference perspectives for the formulation of global public health security strategies.