The agency released a statement on July 20 saying that the data was built by the department’s career staff with input from scientists and doctors, and would not be manipulated by political appointees.
“This is a system designed to be above politics and manipulation. The public health professionals who work at HHS are solemnly devoted to the health and wellness of all America and committed to empowering Americans with the same knowledge guiding the decision makers in the COVID-19 response.”
The agency said it will ensure data isn’t manipulated by:
• Monitoring and correcting any attempts at data manipulation
• Accepting external data submissions through specific data use agreements
• External data sources must be identified and registered before submitting data
• Validating external data daily
• Capturing, recording and time-stamping data before it’s accessible by anyone on the HHS Protect platform
• Recording every data element and data set built on hashing technology
• Using hashing technology to track data shared outside HHS Protect
• Time-stamping all data
The agency protects data by only granting access to authorized government employees and contractors, and HHS Protect data is de-identified. It applied the National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity framework to keep the data secure. Select CDC personnel are responsible for granting access to HHS Protect.
More articles on data analytics:
Uber sharing user data with public health departments for COVID-19 contact tracing
Small labs’ reporting method skews Florida COVID-19 positivity rate
The predictive analytics tools hospitals are using to forecast COVID-19 case surges
