Common COVID19 Citations

Understanding the most frequently referenced sources can help researchers, students, and the public locate reliable information about SARSCoV2 and the disease it causes.

Why Citations Matter

During the pandemic, a massive volume of research was produced in a short period. Proper citation ensures:

Credibility of the information presented.
Traceability to original data and peerreviewed studies.
Recognition of the work of scientists, publichealth agencies, and institutions.

Key Categories of Sources

Most COVID19 references fall into one of the following groups:

World Health Organization (WHO) documents global guidance, situation reports, and technical briefs.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resources U.S. guidelines, data dashboards, and prevention tools.
Peerreviewed journal articles primary research on virology, epidemiology, therapeutics, and vaccines.
Preprint servers (e.g., medRxiv, bioRxiv) early findings that have not yet undergone formal review.
Government and publichealth agency reports national health ministries, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), etc.
Clinical trial registries ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP for ongoing vaccine and drug studies.

Frequently Cited WHO Documents

[1] World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic. WHO COVID19 Dashboard. https://covid19.who.int/ (accessed June2026).

[2] World Health Organization. Clinical management of COVID19. WHO Guidelines, 2020. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/clinical-management-of-covid-19

[3] World Health Organization. Laboratory testing for coronavirus disease (COVID19) in humans. WHO Technical Guidance, 2020. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/331501

Key CDC References

[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID19 Overview and Response. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

[5] CDC. COVID19 Vaccine Effectiveness. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness.html

[6] CDC. Interim Clinical Guidance for Management of Patients with Confirmed COVID19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-care.html

Highly Cited PeerReviewed Articles

[7] Wu, F., et al. (2020). A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature, 579, 265269. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2008-3

[8] Guan, W.J., et al. (2020). Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China. New England Journal of Medicine, 382, 17081720. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2002032

[9] Polack, F.P., et al. (2020). Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid19 Vaccine. New England Journal of Medicine, 383, 26032615. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2034577

[10] Baden, L.R., et al. (2021). Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA1273 SARSCoV2 Vaccine. New England Journal of Medicine, 384, 403416. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2035389

[11] Levin, A.T., et al. (2021). Waning Immune Humoral Response to BNT162b2 over 6 Months. New England Journal of Medicine, 385, 12321240. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2114583

Important PrePrint Citations

While preprints are not peerreviewed, many have shaped policy and research direction.

[12] Tang, J.W., et al. (2020). A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.21.20017787

[13] Pardi, N., et al. (2020). mRNA vaccine development. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.06.028735

Government Agency Reports

[14] European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. COVID19 Situation Update Worldwide. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/situation-update

[15] Public Health England. COVID19 Surveillance Report England. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-surveillance-reports

Clinical Trial Registries

References to ongoing trials provide context for emerging therapies.

[16] ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier NCT04505722 Evaluation of the BNT162b2 Vaccine in Adolescents. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04505722

[17] WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). https://www.who.int/clinicaltrialsregistry

How to Cite Effectively

Follow a consistent citation style (e.g., Vancouver, APA, or Chicago). Include:

Author(s) use the full list for up to six authors, then add et al.
Year of publication.
Title of the article or document.
Journal name or issuing organization.
Volume, issue, page range (for journals).
DOI or stable URL.

Example in Vancouver style:

7. Wu F, Zhao S, Yu B, et al. A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature. 2020;579:265269. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2008-3

Resources for Managing References

Several free tools can help you organize the citations listed above:

Zotero browserbased reference manager with automatic PDF capture.
Mendeley PDF organizer and citation plugin for Word.
Citavi comprehensive knowledgemanagement suite (free for students).

Conclusion

Accurate citation of COVID19 literature is essential for maintaining scientific integrity, enabling reproducibility, and supporting publichealth decisionmaking. By focusing on the core sourcesWHO and CDC guidance, highimpact peerreviewed articles, reliable government reports, and welldocumented clinical trialsauthors can ensure that their work rests on a solid evidentiary foundation.

Reference Files For Common COVID-19 Citations

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