Why Cant We See All of the Governments Coronavirus Data? – The New York Times

I dont know why the government is withholding some of the information it has gathered, when releasing it would so clearly be in the public interest. Perhaps it is driven by a concern that more data will lead to greater scrutiny and criticism over the handling of the pandemic, or misplaced concern that somehow anonymized tabulations of medical information could infringe on individuals privacy.

Prior administrations, too, have tended to err on the side of releasing less data than more on public health problems. But the urgency of determining how to manage this pandemic requires a much more open and collaborative approach.

For instance, access to information on which mandates were imposed where and details on the number of cases, hospital admission and subsequent deaths could help us decide whether new lockdowns are needed. Shorter closures, along with mask requirements, restrictions on large group gatherings, shutdowns of bars and limits on indoor dining, may be sufficient until a vaccine is widely available.

We may also discover that given the much greater toll being suffered among Black and Hispanic people, strategies like regular testing of essential workers may also be needed.

But the scientific community needs access to the data to give more precise direction. And precision will matter with the changing of the seasons. It is increasingly clear that Covid-19 acts like pneumonia and the flu, which spread more quickly during the winter.

If our forecasts are anywhere close to accurate, hospitals may be overwhelmed in many places as colder weather descends. Our modeling, updated weekly, currently forecasts more than 17,500 daily deaths globally by Jan. 1, nearly 2,250 of them in the United States.

We may be able to prevent many of these deaths, but we need the complete data to start planning now.

Christopher J.L. Murray is the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington.

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Why Cant We See All of the Governments Coronavirus Data? - The New York Times