WHAT'S THE HOLD UP?

C.D.C. Withheld Significant Amount of Pandemic Related Data

Data that has been collected since the onset pandemic has either not been shared with the public yet or is undergoing delayed, slow releases.

The C.D.C. has only published a fraction of the data it has collected since the onset of the pandemic two years ago, withholding significant data and information that could have supported local officials in targeting their pandemic mitigation efforts. The agency is only now sharing wastewater data with the public, despite having access to state wastewater information since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, it has collected hospitalization data according to age, race, and vaccination status for over a year, but most of the information hasn’t been released. According to one C.D.C. official, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the pandemic revealed how outdated many of the data systems at the C.D.C. and other health agencies had become. According to C.D.C spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund, the slow release of withheld data has been because “at the end of the day, it’s not yet ready for prime time” and that much of the data could have been misunderstood.