CSTE applauds Biden Administration's Recommended FY '22 Investments in Public Health Data

ATLANTA, May 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) applauds the Biden-Harris Administrations's prioritization of public health, including data modernization to support disease surveillance via the recommendations released today in President Biden's proposed Fiscal Year 2022 federal budget. These recommendations include:

• $9.6 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a $1.7 billion increase over FY 2021 funding.
• $150 million to support CDC's Public Health Data Modernization Initiative. This investment aligns with the strategic goals of the Data: Elemental to Health campaign, which CSTE has spearheaded along with partners ASTHO, APHL, Big Cities Health Coalition, HIMSS, NAPHSIS, and NACCHO.

As our members continue the fight to eliminate COVID-19 on the front lines without access to modern, interoperable public health data systems, sustained funding for CDC data modernization efforts is more crucial than ever. CDC's Data Modernization Initiative (DMI) has already begun to overhaul our nation's data systems. The Administration's proposal is an important step toward providing further annual resources to upgrade public health data infrastructure and speed our public health response. The proposed FY 2022 funding will help to move data modernization forward, but to truly transform our nation's public health data infrastructure to support disease surveillance, we need a commitment to robust, sustained federal funding.

About CSTE
Founded in 1951, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) represents the interests of State Epidemiologists from all 50 U.S. states and territories, comprising the Council. CSTE is also the professional home to more than 2000 practicing applied epidemiologists working at the state, local, tribal and territorial levels. For more information, visit www.cste.org.

Media Contact: Jeremy Arieh, Director of Communications, 770-458-3811, email: [email protected]

SOURCE Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists