US COVID-19 database reportedly returning to CDC control
In a reversal, the Department of Health and Human Services will instruct hospitals to report coronavirus statistics to the CDC, the WSJ reports.
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The US Department of Health and Human Services will instruct hospitals to report key coronavirus statistics to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, reversing a Trump administration move from July that ordered hospitals to report data to a central database in Washington.
The WSJ cites White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx, who this week told hospital executives and government officials in Arkansas that the current framework for reporting new COVID-19 cases was "an interim system," and that data collection responsibilities would soon return to the CDC.
"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," Birx reportedly said.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.