Optimal control on a heterogeneous SI epidemic model

Abstract

This work addresses an optimal control problem for a SI epidemic model incorporating heterogeneities in resistance and viral load at the population level. Building upon the heterogeneous SI framework developed in [1], a minimization problem constrained to the macroscopic counterpart of the SI dynamics derived therein is proposed. Unlike traditional optimal control problems in homogeneous epidemic models, the present approach focuses on an optimal control problem that accounts for population heterogeneity, offering insights from a microscale perspective. The contribution aims to minimize the final size of the infection within a finite time horizon by developing a pharmaceutical strategy, under a supply constraint that translates into an integral equality constraint in the control function. By applying the Pontryagin Minimum Principle, a characterization of an optimal control is provided.