  How has the science system reacted to the early stages of the COVID-19
pandemic? Here we compare the (growing) international network for coronavirus
research with the broader international health science network. Our findings
show that, before the outbreak, coronavirus research realized a relatively
small and rather peculiar niche within the global health sciences. As a
response to the pandemic, the international network for coronavirus research
expanded rapidly along the hierarchical structure laid out by the global health
science network. Thus, in face of the crisis, the global health science system
proved to be structurally stable yet versatile in research. The observed
versatility supports optimistic views on the role of science in meeting future
challenges. However, the stability of the global core-periphery structure may
be worrying, because it reduces learning opportunities and social capital of
scientifically peripheral countries -- not only during this pandemic but also
in its "normal" mode of operation.
