Comparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic

Abstract This study assesses the accuracy of COVID-19 scenarios for new infections produced by the Swedish Public Health Agency (PHAS) from December 1, 2020, to March 20, 2023. We introduce a Similarity Error ( $$\:SEr$$ ), which evaluates the dissimilarity between simulated and observed case time s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hatef Darabi, Ilias Galanis, Federico Benzi, Gerard Farré Puiggalí, Philip Gerlee, Torbjörn Lundh, Lisa Brouwers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08682-z
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849402833973018624
author Hatef Darabi
Ilias Galanis
Federico Benzi
Gerard Farré Puiggalí
Philip Gerlee
Torbjörn Lundh
Lisa Brouwers
author_facet Hatef Darabi
Ilias Galanis
Federico Benzi
Gerard Farré Puiggalí
Philip Gerlee
Torbjörn Lundh
Lisa Brouwers
author_sort Hatef Darabi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study assesses the accuracy of COVID-19 scenarios for new infections produced by the Swedish Public Health Agency (PHAS) from December 1, 2020, to March 20, 2023. We introduce a Similarity Error ( $$\:SEr$$ ), which evaluates the dissimilarity between simulated and observed case time series using the following attributes: area under the curves, peak timings, and growth/decline rates before and after peaks. Rather than using an arbitrary cut-off, we used a threshold determined through Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis, with performance evaluated using the Area Under the Curve (AUC), based on true positives identified by visual inspection for categorization. To further evaluate $$\:SEr$$ ’s effectiveness, we conducted a sensitivity analysis across the full range of possible threshold values within the unit interval. Applying $$\:SEr$$ with an optimal threshold determined through ROC-analysis 7 rounds out of 11 rounds were classified as having one or more similar scenarios, including the 6 rounds identified by visual inspection. Our findings indicate that, despite the challenges of a rapidly evolving epidemic, PHAS delivered simulations that reflected real-world trends in most of the rounds.
format Article
id doaj-art-e529b04399d04bb088afaea49cf13d08
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-e529b04399d04bb088afaea49cf13d082025-08-20T03:37:27ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-08682-zComparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemicHatef Darabi0Ilias Galanis1Federico Benzi2Gerard Farré Puiggalí3Philip Gerlee4Torbjörn Lundh5Lisa Brouwers6The Public Health Agency of SwedenThe Public Health Agency of SwedenThe Public Health Agency of SwedenThe Public Health Agency of SwedenMathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology and University of GothenburgMathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology and University of GothenburgThe Public Health Agency of SwedenAbstract This study assesses the accuracy of COVID-19 scenarios for new infections produced by the Swedish Public Health Agency (PHAS) from December 1, 2020, to March 20, 2023. We introduce a Similarity Error ( $$\:SEr$$ ), which evaluates the dissimilarity between simulated and observed case time series using the following attributes: area under the curves, peak timings, and growth/decline rates before and after peaks. Rather than using an arbitrary cut-off, we used a threshold determined through Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis, with performance evaluated using the Area Under the Curve (AUC), based on true positives identified by visual inspection for categorization. To further evaluate $$\:SEr$$ ’s effectiveness, we conducted a sensitivity analysis across the full range of possible threshold values within the unit interval. Applying $$\:SEr$$ with an optimal threshold determined through ROC-analysis 7 rounds out of 11 rounds were classified as having one or more similar scenarios, including the 6 rounds identified by visual inspection. Our findings indicate that, despite the challenges of a rapidly evolving epidemic, PHAS delivered simulations that reflected real-world trends in most of the rounds.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08682-zCOVID-19Scenario analysisSimulation similarityTime series comparison
spellingShingle Hatef Darabi
Ilias Galanis
Federico Benzi
Gerard Farré Puiggalí
Philip Gerlee
Torbjörn Lundh
Lisa Brouwers
Comparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic
Scientific Reports
COVID-19
Scenario analysis
Simulation similarity
Time series comparison
title Comparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic
title_full Comparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic
title_fullStr Comparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Comparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic
title_short Comparison between simulated scenarios and Swedish COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic
title_sort comparison between simulated scenarios and swedish covid 19 cases throughout the pandemic
topic COVID-19
Scenario analysis
Simulation similarity
Time series comparison
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08682-z
work_keys_str_mv AT hatefdarabi comparisonbetweensimulatedscenariosandswedishcovid19casesthroughoutthepandemic
AT iliasgalanis comparisonbetweensimulatedscenariosandswedishcovid19casesthroughoutthepandemic
AT federicobenzi comparisonbetweensimulatedscenariosandswedishcovid19casesthroughoutthepandemic
AT gerardfarrepuiggali comparisonbetweensimulatedscenariosandswedishcovid19casesthroughoutthepandemic
AT philipgerlee comparisonbetweensimulatedscenariosandswedishcovid19casesthroughoutthepandemic
AT torbjornlundh comparisonbetweensimulatedscenariosandswedishcovid19casesthroughoutthepandemic
AT lisabrouwers comparisonbetweensimulatedscenariosandswedishcovid19casesthroughoutthepandemic