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Review
. 2021 Apr 9;2(4):384-394.
doi: 10.1016/j.medj.2021.02.007. Epub 2021 Feb 27.

A clinician's primer on epidemiology for COVID-19

Azman Rashid  1   2 , Karla Therese L Sy  3   4 , Jacob M Cabrejas  5 , Brooke E Nichols  4   6 , Nahid Bhadelia  7 , Eleanor J Murray  1
Affiliations
Review

A clinician's primer on epidemiology for COVID-19

Azman Rashid et al. Med. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a concomitant deluge of medical, biological, and epidemiologic research. Clinicians are interested in incorporating the best new evidence-based practices when treating individuals with COVID-19 and instituting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission prevention protocols. However, without sufficient background knowledge, evaluating epidemiologic studies can be challenging, and failure to identify sources of bias could lead to poor treatment decisions. Here we provide a brief primer on key concepts and terms related to COVID-19 epidemiology to provide clinicians with a starting point for evaluating the emerging COVID-19 literature.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Clinical course of infectiousness and transmission between two individuals with COVID-19 In general, the infectious period begins before the symptomatic period and continues through the early phase of the symptomatic period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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