Exclusive: Walgreens launches expanded flu, COVID tracker
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Walgreens is unveiling an expanded tracker of flu and COVID-19 to monitor where they're spreading across the country this winter, the company shared first with Axios.
Why it matters: Commercial and academic tools are becoming more important for identifying respiratory virus hotspots this year as federal data becomes less available.
Driving the news: Walgreens is adding COVID-19 data to its existing flu prevalence tracker to create a more comprehensive picture of when and where respiratory viruses are spiking this winter, the company told Axios on Monday.
- Walgreens will pull in data each week from its stores on flu and COVID-19 test results, prescriptions for antivirals and sales of over-the-counter flu and cold products.
- The tracker also brings in CDC wastewater data when available, but doesn't require it to build a national picture of virus spread.
The tracker will let people see what's happening both nationally and near them, said Rick Gates, chief pharmacy officer at Walgreens.
- Consumers can see flu and COVID-19 prevalence by state on the tool.
State of play: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's public flu and COVID-19 trackers have not been updated since before the government shutdown, concerning some doctors and public health scientists as respiratory virus season gets underway.
- Even before the shutdown, communication blackouts at Health and Human Services since the Trump administration started have slowed data releases at times.
- The director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Demetre Daskalakis, also resigned earlier this year.
The big picture: In addition to company efforts like Walgreens', some universities are tracking the spread of respiratory viruses and other illnesses based on sources like state and local health department data.
- But "none of these systems, by themselves or even collectively, will ever replace what CDC does," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health who runs one such tracking project.
Yes, but: Walgreens isn't expanding its tracker because of changes at the CDC, Gates told Axios.
- "It's just us really looking at data sets, really trying to do more for our consumers and our patient base and putting more tools in the hands of consumers," he said.
What they're saying: "The Democrat-led shutdown interferes with data collection from states, hospitals, and others for state and local health authorities to track, prevent, and treat respiratory virus diseases," HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said in an email to Axios.
- "The Trump Administration is committed to reopening the government so CDC can continue to effectively respond to emerging health threats."
