COVID-19 data will go back to CDC when 'revolutionary new data system' is complete, Dr. Deborah Birx says

COVID-19 data reporting responsibility will transition back to the CDC, Deborah Birx, MD, White House coronavirus task force coordinator said at a roundtable discussion on Aug. 17.

CNN reported that during the discussion, hosted by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Dr. Birx referred to the current COVID-19 reporting system as an "interim system" focused on gathering daily reports from hospitals. In July, the federal government updated the COVID-19 data reporting process, requiring hospitals to send data directly to HHS instead of the CDC.

The move has been widely criticized by members of Congress and hospitals, which say the new process is less efficient and less transparent. Dozens of public health advisors raised concerns about data integrity in the new collection process in a July 31 letter to HHS.

During the roundtable, Dr. Birx said, "CDC is working with us right now to build a revolutionary new data system, so it can be moved back to the CDC and they can have that regular accountability with hospitals relevant to treatment and PPE."

She said the system improvement still has a ways to go before it can transition back to the CDC, but it now shows every new admission across the U.S.

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