Corporate report

SAGE: Coronavirus response - publication scheme

Published 29 May 2020

The national and global response to the spread of coronavirus continues to develop quickly and our knowledge of the virus is growing. The statements and accompanying evidence considered by SAGE demonstrate how our understanding of coronavirus has evolved as new data has emerged.

What we will publish

The minutes of SAGE meetings and supporting documentation (scientific data and analysis used to inform SAGE discussions) are typically published at the conclusion of the relevant emergency. This reflects the need to balance building the public’s understanding of the advice provided by the group, with the need to protect any national security or operational considerations, and ensure there is a safe space in which group can provide – and ministers can consider – free and frank advice.

We have revisited this approach in the light of the current exceptional circumstances, recognising the high level of public interest in the nature and content of SAGE advice, the likely need for the provision of advice over an extended period, and the very wide-ranging impact across UK society.

Specifically in respect of its work on coronavirus, SAGE will publish:

• all past minutes and supporting documents - papers will be published chronologically and thematically
• future minutes and supporting documentation will be published within 1 month of the meeting having taken place, and earlier where possible

View the minutes and supporting documentation.

Viewing the evidence in context

The evidence was often complied very rapidly during a fast-moving response and should be viewed in this context. The papers are the best assessment of the evidence at the time of writing, and their conclusions were formed on this basis. As new evidence or data emerges, SAGE updates its advice accordingly. Therefore, some of the information in the papers may have been superseded at a later date.

Pre-print publications

Some of the papers considered by SAGE are pre-prints. These are academic papers that have not yet been through the peer-review process. They 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.

There is no restriction on authors submitting and publishing this evidence in peer-reviewed journals.

Clinical data

Dynamic reports from the COVID-19 Clinical Information Network (CO-CIN) have been provided to SAGE to highlight ongoing information and evidence about coronavirus for a large sample of hospitalised UK patients.

As the CO-CIN reports are dynamic, the data included and analyses change over time and in each report. Particularly for early reports, there may be a risk of misinterpretation. It is important that any potential signals have been confirmed as robust and not taken out of context.

A peer reviewed publication is forthcoming which reports summary results between 6 February and 19 April 2020. A pre-print is available at: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.23.20076042v1.full.pdf.

Redactions

Redactions will be limited and will be applied to:

• protect the personal data of individuals (in particular junior officials and those participants in scientific advisory groups who have asked not to be named)
• protect national security

A very small number of papers have been prepared for use in Cabinet meetings and will not form part of the publication scheme, in line with wider practice.