CDC launches forecasting center for public health outbreaks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched its Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, which will use data modeling and analytics to inform decisions about infectious disease outbreaks. Planning for the center began last August with $200 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. CDC to date has awarded $26 million to advance modeling and forecasting methods for the center, which worked with academic partners to assemble models anticipating the COVID-19 omicron wave and estimate its severity.