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COVID-19: U.S. Public Health Data

and Reporting



Updated June 4, 2020
The daily updated counts of cases and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic have served as important
indicators throughout the crisis-informing policy decisions, research, and public awareness. Ongoing
data collection, or sur,eillance, 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 public health surveillance 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 designated 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 data issues related to diagnostic testing, some have critiqued the timeliness of
reporting, the availability of additional demographic information on COVID- 19 cases (such as on
raceethnicity), 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
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