Cochrane Editorial: Policy makers must act on incomplete evidence on Covid-19

Reducing the transmission of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global priority. To this end, public health officials and politicians across the world have been seeking scientific expertise to guide policy. In response, investigators have rushed to share new results on preprint servers, and journals have expedited editorial and peer review processes to publish them. The urgency to define the relevant knowledge base in preventing, diagnosing, and managing COVID-19 infection has required intense collaboration in evidence generation and synthesis, in order to provide public health officials with authoritative guidance. 

A newly published Cochrane Library Editorial outlines how Cochrane has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, what the limitations of COVID-19  evidence are, and how policy makers can move forward with best available evidence. This Editorial publishes alongside the updated Cochrane Review Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.