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1 1 (April 24, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdadu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: COVID-19: U.S. Public Health Data and Reporting April 24, 2020 The daily updated counts of cases, deaths, and recoveries during the COVID-19 pandemic have served as important indicators throughout the crisis-informing policy decisions, research, and public awareness. Ongoing data collection, or surveill/ce, is a key component of public health practice. As the nation's lead public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has sought to conduct surveillance within the U.S. system of federalism where many public health authorities are based in state law. Some observers have called for improved public health surveillance during the pandemic; this Insight provides an overview of the current systems and policy considerations for Congress. Overview of U.S. Public Health Surveillance In the United States, national pubic heath smunfilance is conducted through multiple multifaceted systems generally involving the federal, state, territorial, and local (jurisdictional) governments. Much of the original data, such as on COVID-19 virus test results and hospitalizations, are collected from disparate and often private organizations, such as laboratories, hospitals, and outpatient health care facilities. Jurisdictions can mandate the collection of certain data from private entities in jurisdictional law and can implement reporting systems. These data are then used to inform jurisdiction-level public health policy and actions. De-identified data are then usually provided voluntarily to CDC by the jurisdictions. CDC provides funding, sets data standards, and provides technical assistance to jurisdictions for surveillance systems. CDC may also conduct national-level public health surveillance by other means, such as through surveys or data collected directly from health care entities or other esignated sites. Current COVID-19 Public Health Surveillance Systems Throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, some have critiqued the adequacy of U.S. public health surveillance. Aside from well-known data issues related to diagnostic testing, some have critiqued the nincliness of reporting, the availability of additional demographic information on COVID-19 cases (such as on racc,/ChnicAy), and the completeness of COVID-19 mortality data. These critiques point to some long-standing issues with U.S. public health surveillance, including differences in jurisdictional laws and Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11361 CRS NSMGHT Prepared for Members aisd C o m m itte esn o fo f o o rfre s s ------------------------..--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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