CDC restricts access to flu data

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has restricted access to flu data.

...Open government advocates are critical of the CDC's "Information Security" manual, the 34-page document that gives officials 19 categories to shield data from public scrutiny without obtaining a "secret" classification.

That runs counter to CDC's mission, says Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' project on government secrecy, which first published the leaked manual on its Web site...

...Upon further questioning, CDC spokesman Von Roebuck cited national security concerns...

I bet I know what you're thinking, and here it is:

One potential concern that the CDC may have about sharing data is how it would affect any partnership it might now have with vaccine manufacturers, said David Webster, president of Webster Consulting Group, a health industry consulting firm based in Pennsylvania. The CDC might be concerned that those manufacturers might not be able to recoup their investment if the information is made widely available, he said.

That's certainly a valid concern, but, like me, there's probably a question or two you might have, such as who's making what and who are they connected to.

If you can find a link to the manual at fas.org, please leave a link in the comments.

Miscellania · Wed, 10/05/2005 - 06:34 · · Importance: 1