The article highlights the concerning decline in communication from the CDC amid a severe flu season. With estimates of 24 million illnesses and 13,000 deaths, frontline healthcare workers, like Sonya Stokes, express frustration over the lack of timely information regarding flu and bird flu outbreaks. The CDC's withdrawal from the global reporting platforms has left doctors and public health experts feeling 'blind' without access to crucial data. The article also notes the obstructed public health information flow due to political decisions, which may hinder effective response strategies to the current health crisis.
Without more information, we are blind," she said. Flu has been brutal this season. The CDC estimates at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 deaths from the flu since the start of October.
CDC right now is not reporting influenza data through the WHO global platforms, FluNet [and] FluID, that they've been providing information [on] for many, many years," Maria Van Kerkhove said.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the WHO. A critical analysis of the seasonal flu selected for distribution through the CDC's Health Alert Network has stalled.
Doctors are struggling to access public health information as the Trump administration censors federal agency websites.
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