In fast moving situations, transparency should be at
the heart of what the government does.
We have therefore published the statements and the
accompanying evidence to demonstrate how our
understanding of COVID-19 has continued to evolve as
new data emerges, and how SAGE’s
advice has quickly adapted to new findings that reflect
a changing situation.
Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir :
This is an incredibly fast-moving, developing
situation and as part of our collective efforts to
give the clearest and most reliable scientific
advice, SAGE
has and continues to draw upon a huge range of
experts and a huge range of evidence.
The UK is home to experts who are at the forefront of
their chosen fields and we are making full use of
their expertise to grow our understanding of COVID-19
as we work tirelessly to tackle this disease.
The collective evidence we have published today has
played a considerable role in shaping our
recommendations on when, how and why the government
have made the interventions it has so far.
Background to SAGE
The Scientific
Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE)
provides ministers and officials with evidence-based
scientific advice in emergencies, ensuring government
advisers are informed and best-placed to make critical
decisions based on a range of credible scientific
evidence.
The advice provided by SAGE
is one of many essential sources of information that
government weighs up before adopting new policies and
interventions, and gives maximum assurance that the
complexities and implications of any policy have been
properly considered.
SAGE
relies on external science advice, including advice
from expert groups and their papers. In the case of
COVID-19, this includes the New and Emerging
Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG),
Scientific
Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M)
in the Department for Health and Social Care, and the
Independent Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on
Behaviours (SPI-B).
These groups consider the scientific evidence, and
provide their consensus conclusions to SAGE.
Both the evidence they have considered and their
consensus statements have been included in this current
batch of evidence.
The growing evidence base on COVID-19
Contained within this release are the methods and
findings that have informed SAGE
advice on the COVID-19 outbreak to date.
Among the papers referenced here, some are pre-prints.
These are academic papers that have not yet been
through the peer-review process, which can take months,
and have been drawn upon by SAGE
to ensure that the most current evidence is being
reviewed in order to provide rapid advice to policy
makers.
Some of the bespoke new modelling that SAGE
has drawn upon to formulate its conclusions has not yet
been published here. This is to allow scientists time
to publish their research through the right academic
channels.
As our understanding of the virus grows, we will
continue to feed into the essential scientific advice
needed by the government to respond to the virus.
During this time, we will update these pages with the
evidence we are collecting to keep the public informed,
while also continuing to provide free and frank advice
to policy makers.
