CDC brings in high-profile outsiders to launch new center aimed at improving disease outbreak forecasting

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to change its game and become a bit more proactive.
The agency has faced some criticism throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for struggling to model coronavirus outbreaks and sharing key data too slowly, making it difficult for decision-makers to react in real time and come up with clear response policies. But on Tuesday, the CDC announced a new offshoot, led by high-profile outside experts who have come to the forefront during the pandemic such as Drs. Marc Lipsitch and Caitlyn Rivers, that's aimed at improving disease outbreak forecasting.
The CDC's Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics will focus on three key functions, the agency said: predicting the course of outbreaks, data sharing and integration, and translating and communicating the forecasts for policy-makers.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The announcement received widespread praise, including from some of the folks, like former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who have expressed disappointment with the CDC's approach in the past.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Hantavirus: the rare pathogen linked to rodents that attacks the lungs
The Explainer Despite the low risk of contracting it, the virus could be potentially deadly
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
What does Health and Human Services do?
The Explainer Cuts will 'dramatically alter' public health in America
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Tuberculosis sees a resurgence and is only going to get worse
Under the radar The spread of the deadly infection is buoyed by global unrest
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
MAHA moms: the cohort of women backing RFK Jr.'s health agenda
The Explainer America's head health honcho has a flock of supporters spreading the MAHA message on social media
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everything
Feature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
By The Week US