Application of option contract in Epidemic control using vaccination

Abstract

Drugs and vaccines supply chains are totally different than supply chain of other relief items. Therefore, there is a need for using appropriate control tools at post-disaster phase for controlling communicable diseases at affected areas. In this paper, a specific option contract is designed for vaccine supply at the pre-disaster phase of a potential disaster to timely control potential epidemics. An SIR epidemic model is designed to determine the required amount of vaccine that would be distributed at post-disaster in a proactive manner. A Stackelberg game is also devised to determine the option contract's parameters. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model, an illustrative example is provided and several sensitivity analyses are carried out to provide useful managerial insights. <br /> Drugs and vaccines supply chains are totally different than supply chain of other relief items. Therefore, there is a need for using appropriate control tools at post-disaster phase for controlling communicable diseases at affected areas. In this paper, a specific option contract is designed for vaccine supply at the pre-disaster phase of a potential disaster to timely control potential epidemics. An SIR epidemic model is designed to determine the required amount of vaccine that would be distributed at post-disaster in a proactive manner.