Competing interests: TG is a member of Independent SAGE and has held research grants from NIHR, Wellcome Trust, and UKRI for covid-19 research. RM receives funding from mask manufacturer Detmold for testing of their masks and is on an advisory board for mask manufacturer Ascend in the last five years. She receives funding from Sanofi for investigator-driven influenza and pertussis research, and from NHMRC and MRFF. She has been an expert adviser for Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) In the matter of a proceeding under the Labour Relations Act, 1995, between ONA and Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation. DF has served on advisory boards related to influenza and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for Seqirus, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, and Sanofi-Pasteur Vaccines, and has served as a legal expert on issues related to covid-19 epidemiology for the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. He is a member of the Canadian Covid Society. MB and AK held grants for research and expert advice on covid-19 from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, New Zealand Ministry of Health, New Zealand Crown Law, and Te Niwha Infectious Disease Research Platform. MB was a member of the government’s Covid-19 Technical Advisory Group, 2020-23. MO is a member of the Canadian Covid Society. JV is a co-founder and director of the Canadian Covid Society, a non-profit advocacy organisation, for which he receives no compensation.