Increasing coordination should allow the CDC to protect the nation’s health better, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Podcast: Download (1.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Sharing and integrating data is one of the top priorities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, says director Mandy Cohen at a recent Johns Hopkins talk.

Cohen: Infectious disease or non infectious disease we need the data capability, we need the laboratory capacity, we need the talented diverse workforce and we need the response capability there's a skill. We've done great data but often that data was siloed. HIV data was over here, our COVID data was over there. How do we think about bringing some of that together because we know we're all working with communities, with individuals who may be impacted by COVID and flu and, and, and. How do you think about bringing data together to identify concerning trends so we can respond.           :30

Cohen says the pandemic brought the clear need to integrate data across seemingly disparate areas of expertise to the agency’s attention, underscoring how such integration allows a more complete understanding of an evolving picture to emerge and be implemented in responding. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.