From maternal health to influenza rates, gaps in CDC’s public health data are creating dangerous blind spots for disease tracking and prevention

By interfering with how communities collect data and how researchers access it, the CDC risks undermining the hard-won trust needed for effective public health.

By: John Kubale, University of Michigan, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: July 8, 2026

Words: 1,257

Last Updated: 4 days, 1 hour ago

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By John Kubale, University of Michigan

Public health relies on data – whether it is tracking the effectiveness of a given year’s flu vaccine, monitoring blood lead levels around the country or estimating the prevalence of diabetes. This data forms the basis for decisions such as whether a community should expand screening for diabetes and which communities are at greatest risk of severe flu-related illnesses.

But in January 2025, at the beginning of President Donald …

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