The CDC is establishing a new center dedicated to disease forecasting and outbreak analytics, the agency said Aug. 18.
"Once established, the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics will bring together next-generation public health data, expert disease modelers, public health emergency responders, and high-quality communications, to meet the needs of decision makers," the CDC said in a news release. "The new center will accelerate access to and use of data for public health decision-makers who need information to mitigate the effects of disease threats, such as social and economic disruption."
Funding from the American Rescue Plan will kickstart the center.
"The new center will meet a longstanding need for a national focal point to analyze data and forecast the trajectory of pandemics with the express goal of informing and improving decisions with the best available evidence," said Marc Lipsitch, PhD, an epidemiologist who will serve as the center's science director.
It's not yet clear when the center will officially launch.