Rush to publish is testing research integrity process.
33 papers retracted, withdrawn, or had serious doubts raised as of end of July.
Thousands of COVID papers on pre-print servers where fewer quality checks made.

As of 7 May 2020, 1221 studies on COVID-19 were registered on the international clinical trial registry site, ClinicalTrials.gov.

And as of 31 July 2020, 19 published articles and 14 preprints about COVID-19 have been retracted, withdrawn, or had serious doubts raised about the integrity of their data, formally known as an expression of concern.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a flood of potentially substandard research amid the rush to publish, with a string of papers retracted or under a cloud and a surge in submissions to pre-print servers where fewer quality checks are made, a leading ethicist has warned in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

Release date: 1 October 2020
Source: BMJ