Burden of disease methods: a guide to calculate COVID-19 disability-adjusted life years

Abstract

Our paper provides a step-by-step guide to define COVID-19 as a cause of disease burden, which can be used to calculate DALYs. Additionally, we suggest pragmatic data inputs, reflecting the availability and quality of data inputs will vary by country. As our paper provides suggestions for different solutions, we recommend that users should be clear about their methodological choices to aid comparisons and knowledge translation.