Can we rely on COVID-19 data? An assessment of data from over 200 countries worldwide

• Published in: Science progress (1916) Vol. 104; no. 2; pp. 1 - 19
• Main Author: Farhadi, Noah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Sage Publications, Ltd 01.04.2021; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Americas - epidemiology; Asia - epidemiology; Bias; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - transmission; COVID-19 - virology; Data Accuracy; Digits; Disease Notification - statistics & numerical data; Europe - epidemiology; Fatalities; Frequency distribution; Health Impact Assessment - ethics; Health Impact Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Models, Statistical; Pandemics; Reliability analysis; Research Design - standards; Research Design - statistics & numerical data; SARS-CoV-2 - pathogenicity; SARS-CoV-2 - physiology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Viral diseases; Americas; Asia; Europe; Germany; COVID-19; Benford’s law; data analysis; data manipulation; public health

To fight COVID-19, global access to reliable data is vital. Given the rapid acceleration of new cases and the common sense of global urgency, COVID-19 is subject to thorough measurement on a country-by-country basis. The world is witnessing an increasing demand for reliable data and impactful inform...