Congressional interest in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) includes understanding its origins, how it evolved into a global pandemic, and the effectiveness of measures to mitigate its impact on communities. Multiple government agencies are involved in responding to these queries both domestically and globally. The Intelligence Community (IC), for example, supports disease surveillance efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The use of surveillance in the COVID-19 response has raised concerns among privacy and civil liberties advocates about what “surveillance” means, and which government agencies are responsible for implementing surveillance programs. There are also questions some have raised about what the United States knows about the origins of the pandemic and when it first learned of its existence. This In Focus describes and explains the IC’s specific role in pandemic preparedness and response.
Source: Intelligence Community Support to Pandemic Preparedness and Response