For the last 3 years, I have begun this review by stating it has been an extraordinary year for JAMA Pediatrics. I mean it this time! The calendar year coincides almost perfectly with the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and for all of the misery it brought, it also generated an enormous amount of research. We received more than 1000 COVID-19–related manuscripts from all over the world. In part because of these, our overall submissions were up 53%, and our acceptance rate for the year was 5% (down from 8% last year). In 2020, the top-viewed articles were all related to COVID-19,1-3 as were 2 of the top 3 articles by Altmetric score (a measure of news and social media attention)1,3,4 and the top 3 most cited articles.2,3,5 There remain unanswered questions related to COVID-19, and we are seeking manuscripts that address those. And in the pandemic’s anticipated wake, we expect many articles that continue to demonstrate what the long-term effects will be on children as they slowly return to some sense of normalcy.
JAMA Pediatrics continues to be the preeminent pediatric journal in the world as evidenced by the impact factor, which is now 13.97. In addition, articles published in JAMA Pediatrics received more than 8.1 million views and 32 000 mentions in the news media (Table). These metrics are achieved first and foremost by the quality of the science the authors allow us to consider. I thank the authors for conducting such quality research and sharing their findings with us. But they also represent the hard work of a fantastic editorial team, including editorial manager Julie Vo and editorial assistant Jennifer Matte, who process manuscripts, field emails and phone calls, and shepherd the entire process of getting things through the system. Our extraordinary editorial team includes deputy editor Ron Keren, MD, MPH, and associate and section editors Aaron Carroll, MD, MS; Alison Galbraith, MD, MPH; Megan Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH; Debra Palazzi, MD, MEd; and John Patrick Co, MD, MPH. Benjamin French, PhD, provides crucial biostatistical review of all research manuscripts prior to their acceptance. But most important, we rely on the thousands of outstanding peer reviewers,6 who selflessly share with us their time and expertise. I give them my most heartfelt appreciation.
JAMA Pediatrics benefits immensely from being part of JAMA Network. Submitted manuscripts can flow seamlessly from one journal to another where they might be a better fit. Published manuscripts are frequently cross-linked with Editorials or related content in other JAMA Network journals.
One of the challenges in editing a journal during a pandemic is deciding how much textual real estate to give it. COVID-19–related manuscripts inevitably pushed out other topics related to child health, and I look forward to returning to publish more of those.
Corresponding Author: Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, 2001 Eighth Ave, Ste 400, Seattle, WA 98121 (dimitri.christakis@seattlechildrens.org).
Published Online: March 22, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.0099
Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.
1.Heald-Sargent
T, Muller
WJ, Zheng
X, Rippe
J, Patel
AB, Kociolek
LK. Age-related differences in nasopharyngeal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) levels in patients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174(9):902-903. doi:
10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3651PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref 2.Shekerdemian
LS, Mahmood
NR, Wolfe
KK,
et al; International COVID-19 PICU Collaborative. Characteristics and outcomes of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection admitted to US and Canadian pediatric intensive care units.
JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174(9):868-873. doi:
10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1948PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref