Press Releases
07/28/2020
AG Tong Calls For Immediate Withdrawal of Directive that Strips CDC Control Over Coronavirus Data
(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong today joined a multistate effort urging the Trump Administration to immediately withdraw its new reporting structure that prohibits hospitals from reporting COVID-19 data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and instead creates a system controlled solely by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
The letter sent to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II by Attorney General Tong and 21 attorneys general says the new system imperils public health and dangerously undermines transparency during the COVID-19 pandemic. The attorneys general urge the department to restore the CDC to its rightful role as the primary source of information about the nation’s public health data.
“This reporting structure raises serious concerns about the security of American’s private health data and our communities’ ability to track and respond to the virus effectively,” said Attorney General Tong. “The CDC has played a crucial role in keeping our state and local governments informed throughout the pandemic and cannot be replaced by a private contractor and shut out of the most devastating public health crisis in recent years.”
This new reporting structure requires hospital data be reported in a separate system than nursing home data and gives sensitive information to private contractors without assurance of appropriate protections. In the letter, the attorneys general argue that the Trump Administration’s decision to bypass the CDC in this crisis harms both the federal and local government’s ability to track and respond to the pandemic. Both state and local public health authorities and researchers rely on CDC data sources to respond to the pandemic in their communities and they must have access to the data they need to continue their vital work.
Additionally, the change risks compromising the health data of millions of Americans and undermines public confidence in any reports about COVID-19 coming from the federal government. The attorneys general contend that any issues with COVID-19 data reporting, analysis and tracking should be addressed by increasing support for the CDC and investing in its systems – not by circumventing the nation’s top public health experts during a crisis.
Today’s letter was led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and joined by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
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