Yesterday, I received notification that COVID-19 data would be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services instead of the CDC. That change is effective today. This abrupt change was sent to me from the Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention, then confirmed about a half hour later by email from the CDC itself. As an Infection Preventionist, my duties include reporting regularly to the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network. Until today, this was the single largest and most accurate repository of infection information in the United States.
Some hours later, the various news services got wind of the change.
I am deeply concerned about the possibility that this could mean COVID-19 data may be buried or even falsified. While no evidence yet exists that this is the case, it is no secret that the Trump Administration and the CDC have disagreed about COVID-19 on many fronts. This administration does have a history of attempting to hide unflattering information.
If you want accurate COVID-19 information, I urge you to keep track of your local health district — my colleagues and I are still required to report to them too. Here’s links to help you find them. And don’t forget that Johns Hopkins still has data available.