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Most cited papers in COVID-19 epidemiological studies

What are the most cited papers in COVID-19 epidemiological studies?

The most cited paper in COVID-19 epidemiological studies is "Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China" (Zunyou Wu, Jennifer M. McGoogan, 2020), with 18,071 citations. Next come "Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia" (18,005) and "The global distribution and burden of dengue" (10,418).

Showing 50 of 100 papers. Every paper with more than 1,605 citations is listed.

Most cited papers, sortable by citations and release date
#Paper
1 Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China Zunyou Wu, Jennifer M. McGoogan · JAMA Open access 24 Feb 2020 18,071
2 Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia Qun Li et al. · New England Journal of Medicine Open access 29 Jan 2020 18,005
3 The global distribution and burden of dengue Samir Bhatt, Peter W. Gething, Oliver J. Brady et al. · Nature Open access Apr 2013 10,418
4 Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1 Neeltje van Doremalen, Trenton Bushmaker, Dylan H. Morris et al. · New England Journal of Medicine Open access 17 Mar 2020 10,255
5 Reproduction numbers and sub-threshold endemic equilibria for compartmental models of disease transmission Pauline Van den Driessche, James Watmough · Mathematical Biosciences Nov 2002 10,191
6 A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: a study of a family cluster Jasper Fuk‐Woo Chan et al. · The Lancet Open access 24 Jan 2020 9,628
7 A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern Chen Wang, Peter Horby, Frederick G. Hayden et al. · The Lancet Open access 24 Jan 2020 8,144
8 The Mathematics of Infectious Diseases Herbert W. Hethcote · SIAM Review 2000 6,988
9 The Incubation Period of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) From Publicly Reported Confirmed Cases: Estimation and Application Stephen A. Lauer, Kyra H. Grantz, Qifang Bi et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine Open access 9 Mar 2020 6,618
10 The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review Maria Nicola, Zaid Alsafi, Catrin Sohrabi et al. · International Journal of Surgery Open access 16 Apr 2020 6,554
11 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): The epidemic and the challenges Chih‐Cheng Lai, Tzu-Ping Shih, Wen‐Chien Ko et al. · International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents Open access 17 Feb 2020 6,402
12 Understanding individual human mobility patterns Marta Claudia González, César A. Hidalgo, Albert-Ĺaszló Barabási · Nature Open access 4 Jun 2008 6,165
13 The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak Hussin Alwan Rothan, Siddappa N. Byrareddy · Journal of Autoimmunity Open access 26 Feb 2020 6,056
14 Nowcasting and forecasting the potential domestic and international spread of the 2019-nCoV outbreak originating in Wuhan, China: a modelling study Joseph Tsz Kei Wu, Kathy S. M. Leung, GM Leung · The Lancet Open access 31 Jan 2020 4,909
15 A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker) Thomas N. Hale, Noam Angrist, Rafael Burstein Goldszmidt et al. · Nature Human Behaviour Open access 8 Mar 2021 4,861
16 Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19 Stefan Gößling, Daniel J. Scott, C. Michael Hall · Journal of Sustainable Tourism Open access 27 Apr 2020 4,772
17 Temporal dynamics in viral shedding and transmissibility of COVID-19 Xi He et al. · Nature Medicine Open access 15 Apr 2020 4,705
18 Transmission of 2019-nCoV Infection from an Asymptomatic Contact in Germany Camilla Rothe, Mirjam Schunk, Peter Sothmann et al. · New England Journal of Medicine Open access 30 Jan 2020 4,504
19 Tracking Changes in SARS-CoV-2 Spike: Evidence that D614G Increases Infectivity of the COVID-19 Virus Bette Korber et al. · Cell Open access 2 Jul 2020 4,487
20 Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data Jeremy Ginsberg, Matthew H. Mohebbi, Rajan S. Patel et al. · Nature Open access 19 Nov 2008 4,439
21 Epidemiology of COVID-19 Among Children in China Yuanyuan Dong, Xi Mo, Yabin Hu et al. · PEDIATRICS Open access 16 Mar 2020 4,312
22 Neutralizing antibody levels are highly predictive of immune protection from symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection David S. Khoury, Deborah Cromer, Arnold Reynaldi et al. · Nature Medicine Open access 17 May 2021 4,261
23 Estimates of the severity of coronavirus disease 2019: a model-based analysis Robert Verity et al. · The Lancet Infectious Diseases Open access 30 Mar 2020 4,176
24 Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis Derek K. Chu et al. · The Lancet ReviewOpen access Jun 2020 4,111
25 Substantial undocumented infection facilitates the rapid dissemination of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Ruiyun Li, Sen Pei, Бин Чэн et al. · Science Open access 16 Mar 2020 4,110
26 The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica T. Davis, Marco Ajelli et al. · Science Open access 6 Mar 2020 4,037
27 How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic? Roy Malcolm Anderson, Hans Heesterbeek, Don Klinkenberg et al. · The Lancet Open access Mar 2020 3,922
28 Estimating the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in Europe Seth Flaxman et al. · Nature Open access 8 Jun 2020 3,852
29 Epidemic processes in complex networks Romualdo Pastor‐Satorras, Claudio Castellano, Piet Van Mieghem et al. · Reviews of Modern Physics Open access 31 Aug 2015 3,842
30 Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed Yu‐Tao Xiang, Yuan Sheng Yang, Wen Li et al. · The Lancet Psychiatry Open access 4 Feb 2020 3,768
31 SARS and MERS: recent insights into emerging coronaviruses Emmie de Wit, Neeltje van Doremalen, Darryl Falzarano et al. · Nature Reviews Microbiology ReviewOpen access 27 Jun 2016 3,755
32 GISAID: Global initiative on sharing all influenza data – from vision to reality Yuelong Shu, John W. McCauley · Eurosurveillance Open access 30 Mar 2017 3,604
33 The reproductive number of COVID-19 is higher compared to SARS coronavirus Ying Liu, Alberto Alexander Gayle, Annelies Wilder‐Smith et al. · Journal of Travel Medicine Open access 11 Feb 2020 3,494
34 COVID-19 and Italy: what next? Andrea Remuzzi, Giuseppe Remuzzi · The Lancet Open access 13 Mar 2020 3,367
35 Social Contacts and Mixing Patterns Relevant to the Spread of Infectious Diseases Joël Mossong, Niel Hens, Mark Jit et al. · PLoS Medicine Open access 19 Mar 2008 3,284
36 Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey Bao‐Liang Zhong, Wei Ping Luo, Hai-Mei Li et al. · International Journal of Biological Sciences Open access 2020 3,279
37 The effect of human mobility and control measures on the COVID-19 epidemic in China Moritz U. G. Kraemer, Chia-Hung Yang, Bernardo Gutiérrez et al. · Science Open access 25 Mar 2020 3,137
38 Clinical and immunological assessment of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections Quanxin Long, Xiao-Jun Tang, Q L Shi et al. · Nature Medicine Open access 18 Jun 2020 3,060
39 Isolation, quarantine, social distancing and community containment: pivotal role for old-style public health measures in the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak Annelies Wilder‐Smith, David O. Freedman · Journal of Travel Medicine Open access 10 Feb 2020 2,847
40 Feasibility of controlling COVID-19 outbreaks by isolation of cases and contacts Joel Hellewell et al. · The Lancet Global Health Open access 29 Feb 2020 2,830
41 Projecting the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 through the postpandemic period Stephen M. Kissler, Christine Tedijanto, Edward M. Goldstein et al. · Science Open access 14 Apr 2020 2,821
42 Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population Matthias Pierce, Holly F. Hope, Tamsin Jane Ford et al. · The Lancet Psychiatry Open access 21 Jul 2020 2,814
43 Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 Mohsen Naghavi et al. · The Lancet Open access2,000 authors 3 Apr 2024 2,801
44 Superspreading and the effect of individual variation on disease emergence James O. Lloyd‐Smith, Sebastian J. Schreiber, Peter Ekkehard Kopp et al. · Nature Open access 16 Nov 2005 2,779
45 Early dynamics of transmission and control of COVID-19: a mathematical modelling study Adam J. Kucharski et al. · The Lancet Infectious Diseases Open access 11 Mar 2020 2,676
46 Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission suggests epidemic control with digital contact tracing Luca Ferretti, Chris Wymant, Michelle L. Kendall et al. · Science Open access 31 Mar 2020 2,653
47 Estimated transmissibility and impact of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 in England Nicholas G. Davies et al. · Science Open access 3 Mar 2021 2,623
48 Estimating the asymptomatic proportion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Yokohama, Japan, 2020 Kenji Mizumoto, Katsushi Kagaya, Alexander E. Zarebski et al. · Eurosurveillance Open access 12 Mar 2020 2,558
49 The COVID‐19 epidemic Thirumalaisamy Palanichamy Velavan, Christian G. Meyer · Tropical Medicine & International Health Open access 13 Feb 2020 2,523
50 Prevalence of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection Daniel P. Oran, Eric J. Topol · Annals of Internal Medicine Open access 3 Jun 2020 2,483

Citations are OpenAlex's own counts, from its 2026-09-23 snapshot, so the ranking can differ from Google Scholar or Web of Science. A paper is listed for a field when OpenAlex files it under one of the field's topics; retracted papers and papers whose citation count cannot be traced to citing works are left out, and a preprint and the article it became are shown once. Release dates are OpenAlex's: where a source gave only a month or a year, that is what is shown. How the lists are chosen.