CDC could take over collection of COVID-19 data, says reports

The CDC could take over handling COVID-19 data coming in from states and medical facilities again, according to media reports.

This week, during a briefing on a visit to Arkansas, Dr. Deborah Birx said the CDC is working "to build a revolutionary new data system so it can be moved back to the CDC" for tracking COVID-19 treatment, patients and PPE needs, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network site had been tracking COVID-19 cases and data since the pandemic started.

Then, abruptly in mid-July, hospitals and states were asked to stop using it and send their information directly to Health and Human Services, and a new database created by private contractor TeleTracking.

The request was initially made in an effort to cut down on duplicate requests and minimize the reporting burden on hospitals and facilities.

However, many hospitals, state officials and journalists noted the numbers in the new system seemed incomplete and the database was slow to update.

The CDC is reportedly working with the U.S. Digital Service, according to the WSJ, an agency set up during the Obama administration to help improve HealthCare.gov, the marketplace for insurance plans that are part of the Affordable Care Act.

There was no timeline mentioned as part of Dr. Birx’s comments, according to NPR.