“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking its staff to improve how it collects and analyzes public health data, according to an agency email obtained by POLITICO.”
“In the March 16 email, Dan Jernigan, the CDC’s deputy director for Public Health Science and Surveillance, points his staff to a letter from Director Rochelle Walensky on the same day. Her note asked agency employees ‘to drive the success of the Data Modernization Initiative’ — a CDC plan to strengthen the health surveillance infrastructure it relies upon.”
“’Among the things Dr. Walensky shared in her letter, are five big commitments that will push us to work more collaboratively by moving from a mindset of ‘my data’ to ‘our data,’’ the email reads.”
“The email is the first formal indication that the CDC is taking new steps to remedy the data gaps that have hindered the agency’s Covid-19 response. And it comes amid calls by lawmakers and public health officials that the agency find ways to ensure more accurate data to respond to the next pandemic — information that can easily be shared among hospitals, state health departments and the federal government.”
“In an interview with POLITICO before the email was sent, Jernigan said the modernization effort will include unifying public health data systems at the state and federal levels, ensuring the CDC is relying on information that is up to date and can be used in real-time, and helping states hire staffers to work on data collection and analysis…”
“The CDC and public health officials across the country have pressed Congress for more money for data modernization. While lawmakers have approved funding to help improve the CDC’s data methods, it has not been enough to change how the agency collects and analyzes the data in public health emergencies, dozens of state officials have told POLITICO…” Read the full article here.
Source: CDC email: Let’s do better with ‘our data’ – By Erin Banco and Krista Mahr, March 21, 2022. POLITICO.
