key: cord-0955194-y61p71yc
authors: Lillicrap, David; Morrissey, James H.
title: Scientific method and the COVID pandemic
date: 2022-02-26
journal: J Thromb Haemost
DOI: 10.1111/jth.15655
sha: 0061a58322fc048adf5e83af35438091104f48e7
doc_id: 955194
cord_uid: y61p71yc

nan

One detail that still seems surreal about experiences during the pandemic is the speed with which events have been observed, communicated and acted upon. As an initial example, the original report from Wuhan described abnormal coagulation parameters in 183 patients admitted to hospital with severe novel coronavirus pneumonia between January 1 st and February 3 rd 2020. This manuscript was sub- Thus, while it is easy to state that biomedical science has moved very quickly and effectively to identify, characterise and develop treatments and vaccines for this infectious disease, it is also clear that the very public face of science during these 2 years has prompted a range of public opinion. Hopefully, most of the public will have recognized the commitment of the scientific community and come away with a better appreciation of the complexity of disease characterization and management.

However, the course of the pandemic has been so rapid that many medical decisions and scientific questions have had to be addressed with a knowledge base that would previously have been considered insufficient to generate valid responses. The hemostasis biomedical community is accustomed to the months or years that are usually required to provide sound evidence to prove a biological theory or to test a novel treatment, but for the past 2 years we have not had the luxury of time. While these rapid responses have been crucial to limit the morbidity and mortality associated with COVID infection, they haven't always been based on the most informed science, and even when there has been scientific rationale, it has often been a great deal less robust than we all would have desired.

COVID will leave a multi-year imprint on all our lives, mostly for reasons we will try to forget. Hemostasis clinicians and scientists have responded brilliantly to the challenges posed by COVID, but many of us look forward to returning to a world where the scientific method can be re-established in a manner and timeframe that provides assurance of better understanding and management of the complex processes that result in human biology and disease. 

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