Authors rebut mischaracterization of their 2023 Lancet Covid study in recent op-ed

The authors of a 2023 Lancet analysis on the United States Covid response wrote to correct a recent First Opinion piece that they say misrepresented their work. While they welcome calls for additional research on nonpharmaceutical interventions, they dispute the claim that their study was presented as a strawman.

The op-ed by Marc Lipsitch and Sara Cody suggested the Lancet paper was a simplistic counterargument, but the authors argue that this characterization contains factual errors that a careful fact check would expose. They note specific points where the op-ed’s reading diverges from the study’s actual methods and conclusions.

In their response, the authors stress the importance of rigorous, honest assessment of the U.S. Covid response and indicate they have reached out to the op-ed authors to address the inaccuracies. They reaffirm the study’s contribution to understanding pandemic policy effects.