{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T09:52:29Z","timestamp":1773049949876,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["M&amp;SOM"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Problem definition: Vaccination campaigns often face significant operational challenges such as limited stockpiles, vaccine delivery delays, and constrained administration capacity. In such contexts, fractional-dose vaccines have been described in the medical literature as a possible strategy because their efficacy reduction is typically not commensurate with the level of fractionation, allowing greater population coverage. We seek to determine the optimal use and potential benefits of a fractionated vaccine dose with lower and more uncertain efficacy, given the specific supply constraints faced by a country. Methodology\/results: We employ a susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) epidemic model integrating vaccination with full and fractional doses over time. We embed it within a deterministic optimal control model aimed at identifying vaccination policies that minimize total infections during an epidemic, given operational constraints restricting the stockpile, delivery rate, and administration of vaccines. Using a statistical approach described in the clinical literature for estimating the uncertainty around fractional-dose efficacy, we conduct two application case studies grounded in real-world scenarios. Our theoretical analysis provides an intuitive characterization of the optimal vaccination policy that, depending on the epidemic and operational parameters, may utilize a combination of full- and fractional-dose vaccines, either simultaneously or sequentially. We also examine simpler policies that employ a single vaccine dosage throughout the epidemic. We conclude that, although these single-dose policies can often be almost as effective as the optimal policy in averting infections, they are not as robust to the uncertainty affecting fractional-dose vaccine efficacy. Managerial implications: Fractional-dose vaccines, used either alone or in conjunction with full-dose vaccines, present an opportunity to significantly reduce infections during an epidemic in resource-constrained settings. The proportion of fractional-dose vaccines relative to full-dose vaccines in a campaign should generally increase with the maximum vaccine administration rate and decrease with the total antigen stockpile available.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>History: This paper was selected as part of the 1RR initiative between the M&amp;SOM journal and the MSOM Society. This particular paper was part of the 2024 MSOM Service Operations SIG Conference.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1287\/msom.2024.1332 .<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1287\/msom.2024.1332","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]],"date-time":"2025-12-11T16:45:17Z","timestamp":1765471517000},"page":"594-609","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["When Should Fractional-Dose Vaccines Be Used?"],"prefix":"10.1287","volume":"28","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2832-0738","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francis","family":"de V\u00e9ricourt","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"European School of Management and Technology, 10178 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6292-5031","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J\u00e9r\u00e9mie","family":"Gallien","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"London Business School, London NW1 4SA, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4552-8450","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naireet","family":"Ghosh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Naveen Jindal School of Management, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"109","reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1426230"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1257\/aeri.20200201"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1287\/mnsc.1110.1469"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bai M, Chen Q, Li C (2024) The sooner, the better? 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