US flying blind to potential COVID-19 resurgence, experts say, as states scale back on testing, data reporting

Since last summer, dozens of states, as well as the federal agencies, have opted to scale back on regular data reporting.

In the wake of a flurry of warnings from officials over a potential COVID-19 resurgence in the United States, there are growing concerns among health experts that dwindling access to public data, the shuttering of COVID-19 testing sites and with an increasing number of people using at-home tests instead, it could leave the nation vulnerable to unforeseen upticks.

"Comprehensive case data is critical to an effective response. As we have seen throughout the pandemic, lack of data leads to poor decision making and ultimately costs lives," Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor, said.

Since last summer, dozens of states and the federal agencies have opted to scale back on regular data reporting. Few states still offer COVID-19 data reports seven days a week, with most now moving to weekly or alternate-day schedules.

"Federal public health has no statutory authority to direct what and how public health data are reported. As such, CDC relies on a patchwork of approaches to collect data voluntarily provided from state and local jurisdictions," a spokesperson from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement to ABC News on Monday. "This pandemic demonstrated the inadequacies of the fractured patchwork system. Immediate and complete data are needed to make the best recommendations to keep people safe and to inform policy making."