Considering Socioeconomic and Environmental Pillars of Sustainability Approach and Sustainable Development Goals to Design a Model for COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract

In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a great deal of harm to human health. In this research, a sustainable multi-objective mathematical model is presented, emphasizing the significance of both collective and individual living conditions that emerge amid pandemics. This model considers the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability. Food inflation, unemployment, domestic violence, and suicide rates are selected as indicators of life standards related to sustainability pillars and sustainable development goals. Domestic violence and suicide represent the social pillar, while food inflation represents the economic and social pillars. Lastly, unemployment is a measure of the economic, social, and environmental pillars. As indicated by the four indicators, the model maximizes the vaccination utility, minimizes the cost of vaccine supply, and minimizes the negative outcomes of preventive measures to control the outbreak of COVID-19. Cplex/GAMS software has been used to validate the model in small size and evaluate it in large size, respectively, using a random example and a case study of Iran. The results and the sensitivity analysis indicate that to achieve herd immunity in the shortest possible time and to minimize the pandemic-induced negative effects, all available capacities should be used for vaccination. Furthermore, in the case of not utilizing the existing capacities, the negative effects of preventive measures may increase by two times, making it impossible to achieve the desired results even over a longer period.