CDC opens data center to study outbreaks to better respond to health emergencies

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The CDC has opened a new data center to study disease outbreaks and how to best respond to public health emergencies.

On Tuesday, April 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it launched the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics following the COVID-19 pandemic. It said CFA seeks to enhance the nation’s ability to use data, models and analytics to enable a more timely and effective decision-making response to public health threats.

The CDC said CFA’s mission is to improve outbreak response with infectious disease modeling and analytics and to provide support to leaders at the federal, state and local levels. It said the new center will also develop a program to provide insights about infectious disease events to the public in order to inform individual decision-making.

The CDC noted the CFA will be equivalent to the National Weather Service for infectious diseases.

“I am excited we have launched CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics,” said CDC Director, Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH. “This new center is an example of how we are modernizing the ways we prepare for and respond to public health threats. I am proud of the work that has come out of this group thus far and eager to see continued innovation in the use of data, modeling, and analytics to improve outbreak responses.”

The Center said CFA will focus on three main pillars – to predict, inform and innovate. CFA has started to build a world-class outbreak analytics team with experts in several disciplines to develop faster, richer evidence to predict trends and guide decision-making in emergencies.

To better inform partners, CDC said it will hire expert communicators to regularly share insights with federal, state and local partners and the public. It said CFA will also continue to advance the state of the science of outbreak data, models and analytics to improve the nation’s ability to respond to health emergencies.

“The capabilities and team we are building at the new Center will improve decision-making in a health crisis,” said Dylan George, Ph.D., Director for Operations, CFA. “I am proud of the CFA team and excited for the future. Better data and analytics will give us better responses to protect all Americans.”

The CDC noted planning for CFA began in August 2021 with an initial $200 million from the American Rescue Plan. So far, it said it has awarded $26 million in funding to academic institutions and federal partners to advance modeling and forecasting methodology – with an emphasis on workforce development and health equity.

In December 2021, the CDC said CFA worked with academic partners to assemble models to anticipate the Omicron wave and generated early estimates of severity which gave leaders a chance to bolster their responses.

For more information about CFA, click HERE.

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