Two years of COVID-19 pandemic: The Italian experience of Statgroup-19

The amount and poor quality of available data and the need of appropriate modeling of the main epidemic indicators require specific skills. In this context, the statistician plays a key role in the process that leads to policy decisions, starting with monitoring changes and evaluating risks. The "what" and the "why" of these changes represent fundamental research questions to provide timely and effective tools to manage the evolution of the epidemic. Answers to such questions need appropriate statistical models and visualization tools. Here, we give an overview of the role played by Statgroup-19, an independent Italian research group born in March 2020. The group includes seven statisticians from different Italian universities, each with different backgrounds but with a shared interest in data analysis, statistical modeling, and biostatistics. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the group has interacted with authorities and journalists to support policy decisions and inform the general public about the evolution of the epidemic. This collaboration led to several scientific papers and an accrued visibility across various media, all made possible by the continuous interaction across the group members that shared their unique expertise.