In February, 2020, 27 public health experts co-authored a Correspondence in The Lancet (“Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting COVID-19”),
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supporting health professionals and physicians in China during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this letter, the authors declared no competing interests. Some readers have questioned the validity of this disclosure, particularly as it relates to one of the authors, Peter Daszak. In line with guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, medical journals ask authors to report financial and non-financial relationships that may be relevant to interpreting the content of their manuscript.
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There may be differences in opinion as to what constitutes a competing interest. Transparent reporting allows readers to make judgments about these interests. Readers, in turn, have their own interests that could influence their evaluation of the work in question. With these facts in mind, The Lancet invited the 27 authors of the letter to re-evaluate their competing interests. Peter Daszak has expanded on his disclosure statements for three pieces relating to COVID-19 that he co-authored or contributed to in The Lancet—the February, 2020, Correspondence,
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
Disclosure of financial and non-financial relationships and activities, and conflicts of interest.
Disclosure of financial and non-financial relationships and activities, and conflicts of interest.
http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/author-responsibilities--conflicts-of-interest.html
Date: 2021
Date accessed: June 17, 2021
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as well as a Commission Statement
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and a Comment
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for the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. The updated disclosure statement from Peter Daszak is:
Commissioners of the Lancet COVID-19 CommissionTask Force Chairs and members of the Lancet COVID-19 CommissionCommission Secretariat and Staff of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission
Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2021: statement of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission.
Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2021: statement of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission.
Lancet. 2021; 397: 947-950
“PD's remuneration is paid solely in the form of a salary from EcoHealth Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation. EcoHealth Alliance's mission is to develop science-based solutions to prevent pandemics and promote conservation. Funding for this work comes from a range of US Government funding agencies and non-governmental sources. All past and current funders are listed publicly, and full financial accounts are filed annually and published. EcoHealth Alliance's work in China was previously funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Neither PD nor EcoHealth Alliance have received funding from the People's Republic of China. PD joined the WHO–China joint global study on the animal origins of SARS-CoV-2 towards the end of 2020 and is currently a member. As per WHO rules, this work is undertaken as an independent expert in a private capacity, not as an EcoHealth Alliance staff member. The work conducted by this study was published in March, 2021. EcoHealth Alliance's work in China includes collaboration with a range of universities and governmental health and environmental science organisations, all of which are listed in prior publications, three of which received funding from US federal agencies as part of EcoHealth Alliance grants or cooperative agreements, as publicly reported by NIH. EcoHealth Alliance's work in China is currently unfunded. All federally funded subcontractees are assessed and approved by the respective US federal agencies in advance and all funding sources are acknowledged in scientific publications as appropriate. EcoHealth Alliance's work in China involves assessing the risk of viral spillover across the wildlife–livestock–human interface, and includes behavioural and serological surveys of people, and ecological and virological analyses of animals. This work includes the identification of viral sequences in bat samples, and has resulted in the isolation of three bat SARS-related coronaviruses that are now used as reagents to test therapeutics and vaccines. It also includes the production of a small number of recombinant bat coronaviruses to analyse cell entry and other characteristics of bat coronaviruses for which only the genetic sequences are available. NIH reviewed the planned recombinant virus work and deemed it does not meet the criteria that would warrant further specific review by its Potential Pandemic Pathogen Care and Oversight (P3CO) committee. All of EcoHealth Alliance's work is reviewed and approved by appropriate research ethics committees, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Institutional Review Boards for biomedical research involving human subjects, P3CO oversight administrators, and biosafety committees, as listed on all relevant publications.”
The Correspondence, Commission Statement, and Comment are linked online to this notice of addendum.
We declare no competing interests.
References
- 1.
Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting COVID-19.Lancet. 2020; 395: e42-e43
- 2.
Disclosure of financial and non-financial relationships and activities, and conflicts of interest.http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/author-responsibilities--conflicts-of-interest.htmlDate: 2021Date accessed: June 17, 2021
- 3.
Lancet COVID-19 Commission Statement on the occasion of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.Lancet. 2020; 396: 1102-1124
- 4.
Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2021: statement of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission.Lancet. 2021; 397: 947-950
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Published: June 21, 2021
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- Lancet COVID-19 Commission Statement on the occasion of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly
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The Lancet COVID-19 Commission was launched on July 9, 2020, to assist governments, civil society, and UN institutions in responding effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission aims to offer practical solutions to the four main global challenges posed by the pandemic: suppressing the pandemic by means of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions; overcoming humanitarian emergencies, including poverty, hunger, and mental distress, caused by the pandemic; restructuring public and private finances in the wake of the pandemic; and rebuilding the world economy in an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable way that is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.
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- Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting COVID-19
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We are public health scientists who have closely followed the emergence of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and are deeply concerned about its impact on global health and wellbeing. We have watched as the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China, in particular, have worked diligently and effectively to rapidly identify the pathogen behind this outbreak, put in place significant measures to reduce its impact, and share their results transparently with the global health community.
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- Priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2021: statement of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission
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The Lancet COVID-19 Commission calls for three urgent actions in the COVID-19 response ( our broader overview is available on our website ). First, all regions with high rates of new COVID-19 cases, including the USA and the European Union (EU), should intensify measures to minimise community transmission alongside rapid deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. Second, governments should urgently and fully fund WHO and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator,1 including COVAX. Third, the G20 countries should empower the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and multilateral development banks to increase the scale of financing and debt relief.
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