In an effort to help people with their decision-making surrounding COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday the launch of Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA).
The CFA will be "the equivalent of the National Weather Service for infectious diseases," the CDC said in their press release.
The CDC stated their three main pillars for this new endeavor: "to predict, inform, and innovate." They plan to use data, models, and analytics to help provide people with necessary information in response to better protect against COVID-19.
"I am excited we have launched CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said. "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."
There will be roughly 100 scientists on the team to research the data that will be passed on to decision makers and the public, according to The Washington Post.
"CFA has begun to build a world-class outbreak analytics team with experts across several disciplines to develop faster, richer evidence to predict trends and guide decision-making during emergencies," the CDC said in the press release.
"To better inform our partners, CFA is hiring expert communicators to regularly share insights with federal, state, and local partners and the public. 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 CDC said in their press release that the plan for the CFA has been in motion since August 2021 behind $200 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Since then, the CDC has given $26 million in funding towards academic institutions and federal partners with the goal of improving modeling and forecasting. The CFA worked on building models for the omicron variant in December 2021 with academic models to help them predict the variant's wave and its long-term severity.
"The capabilities and team we are building at the new Center will improve decision-making in a health crisis," Dylan George, PhD, Director for Operations, CFA, said in the press release. "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."
Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist and associate director for science at the initiative, run by the CDC, told The Washington Post that she believes the CFA will help answer people's questions about COVID-19 before they leave the house.
"We would love to be able for people to look to us to say, 'I'm about to commute on the Red Line. … Should I bring a mask based on what’s happening with respiratory disease in my community? Should I have my birthday party outside or inside?' Those kinds of decisions, I think, are where we would like to move toward," Rivers said.
Dr. Walensky said in an email to staffers, obtained by CNN, that the CFA will help people become more informed and will improve how the CDC should operate in the future.
"At the conclusion of this collective effort, we will develop new systems and processes to deliver our science and program to the American people, along with a plan for how CDC should be structured to facilitate the public health work we do," Dr. Walensky wrote.
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