How to report the science of COVID-19

Key issues to pay attention to

Science is always advancing 
At the time of writing this practical guide, the available scientific information is that there is neither a cure nor a vaccine for COVID-19, and we don’t know for sure whether taking chloroquine or remdesivir, a drug originally developed to treat Ebola, is effective in treating COVID-19 patients. The WHO has put together advice for the public based on the available scientific evidence. However, some of this can be modified when scientists come up with new evidence. It is normal practice in science to make adjustments when new evidence emerges and there is scientific consensus on it.

Correlation is not causation
In research, the terms correlation and association are used in reference to two things that are related to each other. However, the fact that two things are related doesn’t mean one causes the other. A classic example is ice cream consumption and wearing sunglasses. What would you conclude if you saw more teenagers wearing sunglasses as they consume ice cream? Would you say wearing sunglasses causes them to eat more ice cream? Certainly not. Most likely a change in weather is causing an increase in both ice cream consumption and wearing sunglasses. You would expect that to happen in warmer and sunnier months.

In March 2020, the internet was awash with claims that the TB vaccine, commonly known as BCG might protect human beings against COVID-19. These claims originated from three research papers showing that COVID-19 was less prevalent in countries that use the BCG vaccine. To conclude simply that BCG was responsible for the low prevalence of COVID-19 in some countries is like saying wearing sunglasses causes people to eat ice cream. There could be other factors such as demographics and the availability of testing facilities.

Indeed WHO issued a report clarifying that there is no evidence that the BCG vaccine protects people from COVID-19. “In the absence of evidence, WHO does not recommend BCG vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19,” says the report.

Peer review
Scientists announce their research findings by writing a paper and getting it published in a journal. A credible journal will always ask experienced scientists in the same field to scrutinise the paper before it is accepted for publication. This process, referred to as peer review, helps to check that the researcher followed the right procedures and made reasonable interpretations and conclusions about the study. In effect, this protects society from mistaken and fraudulent research findings and recommendations.

In this regard, the WHO report points out a fundamental flaw in the research papers that linked BCG vaccination to lower COVID-19 prevalence. The papers were posted online without going through the expected peer review.

These days, more and more research organisations release papers before peer review has been completed in the name of open science. It means that, as a journalist, you must be sure to check whether a paper has been peer reviewed before you rely on it for your reporting.

Scientific consensus and false balance
Science is built on the collective judgement of specialists on a specific topic. This collective judgement constitutes scientific consensus. Nevertheless, a few scientists might dispute the consensus or mainstream position. Such scientists, often referred to as scientific dissidents, tend to bypass the scientific channels and communicate their views through social media, blogs and other popular media. For example, there are still scientists who argue that HIV is not the cause of AIDS, despite the fact that scientific consensus was reached on this issue decades ago. Similarly, scientific dissidents had a hand in vaccine scepticism, which has, unfortunately, led to a resurgence of measles in many countries.

With regard to COVID-19, dissenting views are already emerging. For example, some scientists are doubting whether all reported deaths are actually due to COVID-19. Some argue that COVID-19 is no worse than seasonal flu. Dissident scientists have a right to their opinion, but that does not mean they are right. Most often they do not have strong evidence for their claim, which is why the majority scientists disagree with them, yet they can be very good at convincing journalists that they have a hot story. A consensus position changes only if scientists find clear evidence.

Often news organisations will fall for this in their attempts to write a balanced story. This is particularly evident in the case of climate reporting, where fringe views have been presented as being equally valid as the scientific consensus by journalists trying to balance their coverage. This is called false balance. A study by the University of California concluded that false balance threatened efforts to fight climate change by giving credibility to unproven claims by climate deniers.

Speed science
The speed with which research has been done and papers published on COVID-19 is unprecedented. It raises concerns that some scientists might be doing an unpolished job. Indeed, a Reuters analysis published in February 2020 indicates that, while some journal publications on COVID-19 are credible, many of them may be questionable or even plain wrong. Pharmacotherapy specialist Irving Steinberg raises similar concerns in his article, Coronavirus research done too fast is testing publishing safeguards, bad science is getting through. It is therefore important to check that the paper was published in a peer-reviewed section of a credible journal.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
Some things are obvious to the human senses. If a teacher is in the classroom you will see and hear them. Some things are not as obvious as that. Take, for example, a microscope-based malaria test. The technician will not report that the patient has no malaria parasites. Instead, they will report that they have not seen malaria parasites in the sample. There is a slim chance that the malaria parasites exist but the test did not detect them. A similar principle applies to reporting research findings. On April 24, WHO reported that there was no evidence that recovered COVID-19 patients cannot be reinfected. This does not necessarily mean they can be reinfected. It simply means that at the time of making that statement they didn’t have any evidence.

Report in a simple language
It is always important to report the science in a language that can be understood by non-specialists. Avoid using medical jargon. You can always find everyday words or phrases to replace technical jargon. For example a CNN story used the phrase “remnants of the virus” instead of “RNA fragments”. Where you must use the technical terms, it is important to explain them. The International Journalists’ Network has put together definitions of medical terms that you are likely to encounter when reporting on COVID-19. It can help you in interpreting and simplifying the terms.

Fake COVID-19 news
The internet is awash with unverified and outright fake claims about COVID-19. A Reuters Institute report indicates that about 59 percent of the misinformation they sampled was misrepresentations of existing facts, while 38 percent was completely fabricated. Whereas only 20 percent of the misinformation came from politicians, celebrities, and other public figures, these accounted for 69 percent the social media engagement.

It is therefore important to fact-check any COVID-19 information you find on the internet or social media. Below are examples of resources you can use for fact checking:

• WHO COVID-19 myth busters
• Poynter Institute’s coronavirus facts database
• Coronavirus Facts Alliance
• AFP Coronavirus Verification Hub

In conclusion, the multiplicity of publications on COVID-19 provides a great opportunity for science reporting. However, the speed with which studies are done and papers published requires careful consideration in reporting them.

Charles Wendo, a science journalist and veterinary doctor, is the Training Coordinator for SciDev.Net

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