Early in the epidemic: impact of preprints on global discourse about COVID-19 transmissibility

Abstract

Since it was first reported by WHO in Jan 5, 2020, over 80 000 cases of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been diagnosed in China, with exportation events to nearly 90 countries, as of March 6, 2020.1 Given the novelty of the causative pathogen (named SARS-CoV-2), scientists have rushed to fill epidemiological, virological, and clinical knowledge gaps—resulting in over 50 new studies about the virus between January 10 and January 30 alone.2 However, in an era where the immediacy of information has become an expectation of decision makers and the general public alike, many of these studies have been shared first in the form of preprint papers—before peer review.

Cited by papers we hold 4

• COVID-19: 8 lecciones de la primera infodemia global que deberían ser una oportunidad para las bibliotecas · 2022
  Not checked
• Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV (COVID-19): early estimation of epidemiological parameters and epidemic size estimates · 2021
  No notice
• Challenges in control of COVID-19: short doubling time and long delay to effect of interventions · 2021
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• Synthesis and systematic review of reported neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infections · 2020
  No notice

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