SIR model showing the impact of reducing the infection rate () by 76%<unk>  was a public health strategy to slow down the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The<unk>  being flattened is the epidemic<unk> , a visual representation of the number of infected people needing health care over time. During an epidemic, a health care system can break down when the number of people infected exceeds the capability of the health care system's ability to take care of them.<unk>  means slowing the spread of the epidemic so that the peak number of people requiring care at a time is reduced, and the health care system does not exceed its capacity.<unk>  relies on mitigation techniques such as hand washing, use of face masks and social distancing. A complementary measure is to increase health care capacity, to "raise the line". As described in an article in The Nation, "preventing a health care system from being overwhelmed requires a society to do two things: 'flatten the<unk> '—that is, slow the rate of infection so there aren't too many cases that need hospitalization at one time—and 'raise the line'—that is, boost the hospital system's capacity to treat large numbers of patients." , in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, two key measures are to increase the numbers of available ICU beds and ventilators, which are in systemic shortage. Experts differentiate between "zero-COVID", which is an elimination strategy, and<unk> " a mitigation strategy that attempt to lessen the effects of the virus on society, but which still tolerate some level of transmission within the community. These two initial strategies can be pursued sequentially or simultaneously during the acquired immunity phase through natural and vaccine-induced immunity.
Flattening the curve
Midline shift
Bragg peak
Lewis offset
Skew deviation
Precordial concordance
Stroop effect
Hyperintensity