Role of Machine Learning in Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Since its appearance in late 2019, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a significant threat to human health and public safety. Machine learning has been extensively exploited in the past to solve a range of problems in everyday life. It has also played its role in virtually all aspects of pandemic management, ranging from early detection and contact tracing to vaccine and drugs development and treatment. This chapter discusses some of the ways in which machine learning-based solutions have helped. In this regard, computer vision approaches have been used for the early detection of disease. Contact tracing has been enhanced by machine learning models to improve distance estimation techniques. Similarly, machine learning techniques have been used to accurately predict mortality rates to optimize resource management. These techniques have also helped in the otherwise tedious processes of vaccine and drugs development in numerous ways, such as providing insights into drug target interactions and possibilities of repurposing the existing drugs.