SynthesisLancet (London, England)2021
How an outbreak became a pandemic: a chronological analysis of crucial junctures and international obligations in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Synthesis in Lancet (London, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Internet-based Surveillance Systems and Infectious Diseases Prediction: An Updated Review of the Last 10 Years and Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2024Pooled it
- A review and analysis of accountability in global health funding, research collaborations and training: towards conceptual clarity and better practice.BMJ global health · 2023Pooled it
- Size-Dependent Neutralization Efficacy of Nanodecoys Against SARS-CoV-2 Mimics in Mammalian Cell Infection Models.Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 2026Article
- Supplementation of αKG along with TGFβ/HIF1α antagonist rescues lung fibrosis in mice with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Primary care physicians' perspectives on managing mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in populations at risk for progression to severe disease: a survey-based study.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Policy challenges in the provision of COVID-19 border screening: evidence from eight countries.BMC public health · 2026Review
- Global perspectives on infectious diseases at risk of escalation and their drivers.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Clinical and Metabolic Profiles in Menstrual Changes Among Reproductive-Aged Women Post-COVID-19.MedComm · 2025Article
- The relationship between work requirements and mental distress in hospital staff: the chain mediating effects of rumination and work recovery classes.BMC psychology · 2025Observational
- FIB-4 Index Can Predict Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 Infection, Independent of CT Severity Score.Archives of Iranian medicine · 2025Article
- Examining self-described policy-relevant evidence base for policymaking: an evidence map of COVID-19 literature.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- A pan-respiratory antiviral chemotype targeting a transient host multi-protein complex.Open biology · 2024Article
- Necroptosis does not drive disease pathogenesis in a mouse infective model of SARS-CoV-2 in vivo.Cell death & disease · 2024Article
- An Ocean between the Waves: Trends in Antimicrobial Consumption in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- HIV/AIDS, SARS, and COVID-19: the trajectory of China's pandemic responses and its changing politics in a contested world.Globalization and health · 2024Review
- Assessing the Reasons and Adverse Effects of Self-Medication in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sierra Leone. A Case Study of Moriba Town Section.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2024Article
- Investigating the barriers and enablers to outbreak reporting in the Asia-Pacific region: A mixed-methods study protocol.PloS one · 2024Article
- Generation and Characterization of a Multi-Functional Panel of Monoclonal Antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 Research and Treatment.Viruses · 2023Article
- A Pan-Respiratory Antiviral Chemotype Targeting a Host Multi-Protein Complex.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Reverse transcription loop‑mediated isothermal amplification has a high performance in the detection of SARS‑CoV‑2 in saliva samples and nasal swabs from asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2023Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding the spread of SARS-CoV-2, how and when evidence emerged, and the timing of local, national, regional, and global responses is essential to establish how an outbreak became a pandemic and to prepare for future health threats. With that aim, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response has developed a chronology of events, actions, and recommendations, from December, 2019, when the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in China, to the end of March, 2020, by which time the outbreak had spread extensively worldwide and had been characterised as a pandemic. Datapoints are based on two literature reviews, WHO documents and correspondence, submissions to the Panel, and an expert verification process. The retrospective analysis of the chronology shows a dedicated initial response by WHO and some national governments, but also aspects of the response that could have been quicker, including outbreak notifications under the International Health Regulations (IHR), presumption and confirmation of human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2, declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and, most importantly, the public health response of many national governments. The chronology also shows that some countries, largely those with previous experience with similar outbreaks, reacted quickly, even ahead of WHO alerts, and were more successful in initially containing the virus. Mapping actions against IHR obligations, the chronology shows where efficiency and accountability could be improved at local, national, and international levels to more quickly alert and contain health threats in the future. In particular, these improvements include necessary reforms to international law and governance for pandemic preparedness and response, including the IHR and a potential framework convention on pandemic preparedness and response.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.