In 2016, the California Health and Human Services Agency began merging data from disparate programs on a single platform, using standard data categories and definitions. This shift enabled the agency to respond more effectively and efficiently when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
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When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the federal government struggled to collect accurate, comprehensive and timely disease data. To overcome this obstacle, a unit within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the Situational Awareness team—worked around the clock to create more effective data collection processes that the CDC leadership and agency partners needed to make informed decisions.
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Health crises like COVID-19 require a strong public health surveillance system that enables leaders to collect, analyze and interpret critical data about the prevalence and spread of disease. In the recent “Retracing Steps” report, the Partnership offered several recommendations for federal leaders to improve their efforts in this area.
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As the U.S continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, legislators have introduced bills that would establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the pandemic and the national response. Should a commission be established, it must acknowledge how federal management issues affected the nation’s response.
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During the past year, failures in the public health data infrastructure prevented state and local authorities from getting accurate information about COVID-19 prevalence and spread, leaving them unable to recommend equitable interventions. State and federal governments must work together and share data that would enable officials to track disease spread, vaccination rates and other health information in different communities to provide more equitable interventions.
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