Governments were able to tailor their data reporting so it could be aggregated. Pulling the data closest to the outbreaks allowed us to publish nearly real-time information as the pandemic spread. Politicized rhetoric about vaccines also drove decisions in some parts of the country to end data reporting. As of this spring, only seven states continued to publish data on cases and deaths more than once a week. There is still much to do to fix the hodgepodge of antiquated, disconnected surveillance data systems that exist across governments.

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