Health data staggers back post-shutdown
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Some closely watched federal health websites and datasets that went dark during the government shutdown haven't been updated since the reopening.
Why it matters: The pause in critical information leaves the public and providers in the dark about threats with the holidays approaching.
The big picture: With vaccination rates falling, a new flu strain on the rise and bird flu returning, public health authorities need reliable data to make timely decisions, especially as more people gather indoors.
State of play: Government trackers on matters like Food and Drug Administration drug recalls and measles outbreaks have remained current, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's FluView was updated late last week.
- But the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a compendium of public health information and recommendations, hasn't published since Oct. 2, while estimates of COVID-19 vaccine coverage were last updated in May.
- Outbreaks of pertussis, or whooping cough, were last updated in June.
- Wastewater surveillance data used to track the spread of COVID, flu and RSV hasn't changed since before the shutdown. The government says it's due to be updated later this week.
Federal data tracking is essential, not only because it can show disease spread but because agencies like the CDC have the responsibility to act when the data shows troubling trends, according to public health professionals.
- "I'm worried we had a monthlong blackout of flu data at a time when it's flu season and they're not talking about flu vaccines at all," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.
- The CDC also plays a role encouraging state-level surveillance of threats like avian flu, including the first known human case since February, Nuzzo said.
- Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, said the wave of high-level departures in the top-ranks of the CDC call into question the agency's commitment to data collection in a transparent and evidence-based way.
- She said the agency has been hindered in its ability to collaborate with external scientists and even other government agencies.
The other side: "All data updates are in the process of returning to normal operations following the Democrat-led shutdown," Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement. "There is no broader issue beyond the normal post-shutdown ramp-up."
Between the lines: Academic institutions and some health companies have stepped into the void with trackers for virus hotspots this year, including Walgreens, which launched a tool during the shutdown to monitor flu and COVID-19 spread across the country this winter.
What we're watching: Avian flu tracking — in birds and spillover to other species — is an immediate concern, since seasonal migrations are underway and influenza spread could drive up food prices.
- A national milk testing strategy website was last updated in July.
- And public health experts warn the U.S. could be in the path of a bad flu season that will require real-time data. The new H3N2 strain surging in some other countries doesn't match the strain used to create this year's flu vaccine.
