CDC http://www.cdc.gov/CFA has launched the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA) to improve the ability to use data, models, and analytics to enable timely effective decision-making in response to public health threats for CDC and public health partners.
CFA’s goals are to improve outbreak response using infectious disease modeling and analytics and support leaders at federal, state, and local levels. CFA will also develop a program to provide insights on infectious disease events to the public to inform individual decision-making
CFA’s work will focus on predicting, informing, and innovating. The Center is beginning to build an analytics team with experts across several disciplines to develop faster and richer evidence to predict trends and guide decision-making during emergencies.
CFA is hiring expert communicators to regularly share insights with federal, state, and local partners, and the public. CFA will continue to advance the state of science related to outbreak data, models, and analytics to improve the nation’s ability to respond to health emergencies.
Planning for CFA began in August 2021 with initial funding of $200 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. So far, CDC has awarded $26 million in funding to academic institutions and federal partners to advance modeling and forecasting methodology, with an emphasis on workforce development and health equity.
In December 2021, CFA worked with academic partners to assemble models anticipating the Omicron wave and was able to generate early estimates of the Omicron severity, which gave leaders an opportunity to bolster the response.