Mutation and SARS-CoV-2 strain competition under vaccination in a modified SIR model.

The crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak around the globe raised an increasing concern about the ongoing emergence of variants of the virus that may evade the immune response provided by vaccines. New variants appear due to mutation, and as the cases accumulate, the probability of the emergence of a variant of concern increases. In this article, we propose a modified susceptible, infected, and recovered (SIR) model with waning immunity that captures the competition of two strain classes of an infectious disease under the effect of vaccination with a highly contagious and deadly strain class emerging from a prior strain due to mutation. When these strains compete for a limited supply of susceptible individuals, changes in the efficiency of vaccines may affect the behaviour of the disease in a non-trivial way, resulting in complex outcomes. We characterise the parameter space including intrinsic parameters of the disease, and using the vaccine efficiencies as control variables. We find different types of transcritical bifurcations between endemic fixed points and a disease-free equilibrium and identify a region of strain competition where the two strain classes coexist during a transient period. We show that a strain can be extinguished either due to strain competition or vaccination, and we obtain the critical values of the efficiency of vaccines to eradicate the disease. Numerical studies using parameters estimated from publicly reported data agree with our theoretical results. Our mathematical model could be a tool to assess quantitatively the vaccination policies of competing and emerging strains using the dynamics in epidemics of infectious diseases.

International current affairs in Chilean Translation and Interpreting programs: current scenario and post-pandemic curricular challenges

Due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, translation and interpretation education faces an uncertain future, reinforcing the idea of a discipline immersed in an inter-connected world and aware of international context issues. On this basis, the article explores translation training and international context relation. In addition, it suggests mechanisms to adapt the educational approach to a post-pandemic scenario in which future professionals will develop their professional paths.From a methodological point of view, the article analyzes the relevance of thematic knowl-edge regarding international relations within translation competence training and the prac-tical experience of Chilean institutions up to the outbreak of the pandemic. Subsequently, the article supports curricular redesign regarding this area, considering new national and international scenarios in which the post-pandemic translation practice will be developed. Finally, it presents a pedagogical proposal that considers the integration of international the-matic contents related to theory, concepts, and international scenarios, and also the use of technology given current possibilities. This curricular proposal introduces pandemic context in translation and interpretation-related research in Chile.The paper concludes by calling attention to promoting initiatives in this area through virtu-alized education processes, reinforcing this aspect of translation competence for a changing global scenario, based on the collaborative work among national and international programs for translation and interpreting education.