How The Government Shutdown Is Impacting Surveillance Of COVID-19, Flu And RSV

Forbes November 9, 2025
Omer Awan

Flight cancellations aren’t the only casualties for the current government shutdown. The ongoing government shutdown, since October 1^st, is affecting public health and disease surveillance in real and tangible ways. There have been significant delays in respiratory disease surveillance tracking by the CDC, the federal agency that normally tracks cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The CDC has not updated data on its National Wastewater Surveillance System for COVID-19 since late September. In addition, data on the flu and RSV has also not been posted since September 26, 2025 on the CDC website. These surveillance programs form the backbone of America’s ability to detect outbreaks early, allocate resources and guide public health decisions. The suspension of federal respiratory disease surveillance systems could...

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