  The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes one of the largest threats in recent
decades to the health and economic welfare of populations globally. In this
paper, we analyze different types of policy measures designed to fight the
spread of the virus and minimize economic losses. Our analysis builds on a
multi-group SEIR model, which extends the multi-group SIR model introduced by
Acemoglu et al.~(2020). We adjust the underlying social interaction patterns
and consider an extended set of policy measures. The model is calibrated for
Germany. Despite the trade-off between COVID-19 prevention and economic
activity that is inherent to shielding policies, our results show that
efficiency gains can be achieved by targeting such policies towards different
age groups. Alternative policies such as physical distancing can be employed to
reduce the degree of targeting and the intensity and duration of shielding. Our
results show that a comprehensive approach that combines multiple policy
measures simultaneously can effectively mitigate population mortality and
economic harm.
