Over the past few weeks, we’ve been adjusting to the many changes and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this current climate, we at Aetion believe that a commitment to science is especially important to help us make sense of the headlines and get to the facts—and, ultimately, to solutions.
As the situation rapidly evolves, our epidemiologists and science-minded colleagues have been sharing their knowledge and readings about the virus, the resulting global response, and potential innovations to help slow, and eventually overcome, the pandemic.
Below, we share a collection of our colleagues’ recommended resources, which we hope can be of service to our readers during this challenging time.
Aetion will be sharing more COVID-19 related content in the coming weeks, and will continue to share real-world evidence insights and best practices on the Evidence Hub.
We recognize that now more than ever—with heightened attention on patient safety, provider capacity, and the associated delay or discontinuance of trials—you may be called upon to answer critical questions on the safety and effectiveness of treatments that real-world data are positioned to address.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb
Twitter
Scott Gottlieb, M.D., former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Aetion Board Director is leveraging his Twitter platform to keep followers up to date on the latest COVID-19 news. His feed has served as a steady stream of policy recommendations, updates on national testing capacity, and insights from scientists leading COVID-19 research efforts.
COVID-19 Global Case Tracker
Johns Hopkins Medicine
This interactive dashboard shows the global spread of COVID-19, including counts of confirmed, active, and recovered cases, as well as deaths. It is updated frequently to display the most current data.
Johns Hopkins ABX Guide: Coronavirus COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
Johns Hopkins Medicine
For those seeking granular details, this guide from Johns Hopkins Medicine outlines all things clinical about COVID-19, including the virus’s microbiologic profile, clinical details on its epidemiology and transmission, and testing and treatment information. They’ve also provided a webinar and Q&A in which Paul Auwaerter, M.D., M.B.A., Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, walks through the information in the guide.
COVID-19 active clinical trials
ClinicalTrials.gov
To monitor all randomized controlled trials seeking answers about—and treatments for—COVID-19, visit ClinicalTrials.gov. The site currently lists 114 studies, many of which are recruiting participants to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 therapies.
COVID-19, your community, and you—a data science perspective
Fast.ai
Recognizing the need to rely on science rather than intuition to understand and respond to the pandemic, contributors present charts, statistical methods, and data scientist perspectives to help explain the spread of Covid-19 and effective containment methods.
Seasonality of SARS-CoV-2: Will Covid-19 go away on its own in warmer weather?
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics
Marc Lipsitch, DPhil, is a leading voice among epidemiologists and a professor of epidemiology and Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Here, he busts popular myths around the novel coronavirus, and explains the five factors that differentiate it from the flu and other respiratory viruses that often subside in warmer weather.
The math of life and death: Seven mathematical principles that shape our lives
Kit Yates, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and Co-director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Bath
This book came recommended by our scientists as an approachable read about exponential growth and infectious disease modeling. Dr. Yates explores the mathematical context behind a variety of day-to-day phenomena that have become especially relevant in today’s climate.
Coronavirus will linger after the pandemic ends. But it won’t be as bad.
Washington Post
In a slightly more reassuring take on the future of COVID-19, Justin Lessler, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, explains how, over time, the virus currently taking the world by storm could become less of a danger to public health as immunities are built and new therapies are developed.
Special thanks to Ray Harvey, M.P.H., Yin Ho, M.D., M.B.A., Amanda Kelly, M.S., Ilker Oztop, Ph.D., Natalia Petruski-Ivelva, Ph.D., Jeremy Rassen, Sc.D., and Emily Rubinstein, M.P.H., for contributing their readings.