August 19, 2021 – The CDC is setting up a new hub to watch out for early warning signs of future outbreaks of infection, the agency said on Wednesday.
Epidemiologists learn of emerging outbreaks by tracking information, and the quality of their analysis depends on their access to quality data. Gaps in existing systems became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic when experts were challenged by the crisis.
The new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics will in part work like a meteorological office, tracking weather-related changes, only the center will track possible flare-ups in infectious diseases.
The day after he took office, President Joe Biden pledged to modernize the country’s public health record system. Initial funding for the initiative will come from the American Rescue Plan.
“We are excited to have the expertise and ability to model and predict public health concerns and share real-time information to enable government, private and public action to anticipate threats domestically and internationally,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky, MD said in a statement.
Devastating number of COVID-19
Many world leaders are now responding to the devastation of the health crisis and are investing in new infrastructure. A July report by a G-20 panel called for $ 75 billion in international funding for pandemic prevention and preparation – twice the current level of spending.
Caitlin Rivers, PhD, epidemiologist of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, said in a congressional hearing the importance of never being caught off guard again.
“We were not prepared to face the emergence and rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus, and we realized too late when it had reached our shores. These delays have put us on a worse path than we otherwise could have experienced, ”she said.
Rivers will join the leadership team at the new center as an associate director, working with Marc Lipsitch, PhD, director of science.
I am very excited to take on a new role at CDC to help build the Center for Epidemic Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics. I am fortunate enough to join colleagues @[email protected]@ rebeccajk13 and CDC colleagues. https://t.co/zlqLNmFXIX
– Caitlin Rivers, PhD (@cmyeaton) August 18, 2021
“The new center will meet the long-standing need for a national focal point to analyze data and predict the course of pandemics, with the express aim of informing and improving decisions with the best evidence available,” Lipsitch said in the press release the CDC, where the new center was announced.
Experts will map what data sources are needed to help disease modelers and public health rescue workers track emerging issues that they can share with decision makers. You will expand tracking and data sharing using open source software and application programming with existing and new data streams from the public health ecosystem and elsewhere.
Dylan George, PhD, who will be the center’s operations director, said in the CDC news release that the center will provide critical information to communities so they can respond.
“Pandemics threaten our families and communities at a rapid pace and scale – our response must also be quick and comprehensive,” he said.
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CDC: “CDC is committed to a new disease prediction center.”
Centerforhealthsecurity.org: “COVID-19 Variants and Evolving Research Needs.”
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