> Double-blind RCTs are the gold standard.

They are also extremely slow. Appropriate for efficacy testing of new treatments, not as much for public health messaging at the onset of a crisis.

It’s important to have a methodological basis for decision making in those early hours where information is sparse and of dubious quality. Without that, people panic and make short-sighted decisions that may undermine the legitimacy of their organization for years to come.

Yes absolutely. If things have to move fast, people/institutions have to refer to heuristics. But in my understanding this also is pretty much what the article described.