Image: Tom Morris [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Advisory group will draw on expertise and advise government’s office for science
The Royal Society has launched a new Covid-19 rapid advice group, the Science in Emergencies Tasking Covid-19.
The group, dubbed SET-C, was established to respond to requests for rapid science advice on topics relevant to tackling the pandemic, the learned society announced on 11 June.
Chaired by vice-president of the Royal Society, Peter Bruce, the group will draw on the expertise of its fellows and others.
The society says the group was initially convened to respond to requests for rapid science reviews from the Government Office for Science. It has already filed its first paper, on the Covid-19 immune response, inflammation, and vascular disease, to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
“Evidence and expert analysis is essential at any time, but Covid-19 has made that an even higher priority,” a spokesperson told Research Professional News. “SET-C is part of a coordinated package of actions by the Royal Society, designed to help inform policy making in relation to the pandemic. It will draw on the expertise of our fellows and provide rapid reviews of the evidence on specific topics.”
The society’s other Covid-19 groups include the Rapid Assistance in Modelling the Pandemic initiative—known as Ramp—as well as the Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemics group—known as Delve.