Why did you start this site?
We welcome
the goals of using a science based approach to decisions regarding COVID-19,
but noticed that the sheer volume of research and data, and the frequently
contradictory conclusions from equally qualified experts, made it extremely
difficult for anyone to choose the best options. Moreover, decision makers
were very suddenly thrown into positions where they needed to make very rapid
and very public decisions. The fact that the science based approaches resulted
in different decisions around the world highlights this difficulty.
Whether it be treatments or interventions, the plethora of
seemingly similar quality research supporting contradictory positions, and the
use of digital echo chambers, facilitates widespread confirmation bias -
evidence supporting any initial position can be easily found. Self-serving
bias and cognitive dissonance further make it challenging to alter positions,
especially for those taking very public and strong positions with serious
implications.
We felt that attempts to organize and make the research and
data easier to navigate, highlighting areas of applicability, and analyzing
limitations, could potentially be beneficial.
What is the search strategy for papers?
All significant original contributions related to the use of the treatments we
cover, including searches of the typical sources augmented by contributions
from the community. Covering all research is important for HCQ in particular
because it is easy to choose a search strategy that results in a subset of
papers reporting a desired conclusion. This is especially so if one takes the
conclusions reported in papers at face value without examining the actual
data, methods, or regions of applicability.
How do you choose the treatments?
We
focus on the most effective/promising early treatments. There are many
treatments that are helpful for late stage patients such as dexamethasone,
however we do not have the resources to cover everything and currently focus
on early treatment.
Who is @CovidAnalysis?
We are PhD
researchers, scientists, people who hope to make a contribution, even if it is
only very minor. You can find our research in journals like Science and
Nature. For examples of why we can't be more specific search for "raoult death
threats" or "simone gold fired". We have little interest in adding to our
publication lists, being in the news, or being on TV (we have done all of
these things before but feel there are more important things in life
now).
Why should we trust @CovidAnalysis?
There is no need to. We provide organization and analysis, but all sources are
public and you can easily verify everything. For the meta-analyses, all data
required to reproduce the analysis is contained in the appendix, with direct
links to the original source papers. For the country-based analysis, all data
is public and the analysis is simple to replicate. We also note that many
equally qualified experts report contradictory conclusions. If you don't like
our analysis, you can use our database to locate information you may have
missed for your own research.
Who funds this research?
We have no
funding, this is done in our spare time and we pay the web hosting fees
personally (about $100 per month).
Can we use your graphs?
Yes. You can use
any of our work free of charge.