Last spring, we received records that showed the CDC had a “novel-coronavirus” Slack channel. After we FOIA’d CDC, we obtained messages from the channel.
The records include guidelines that indicate all Slack messages are federal records subject to FOIA.
americanoversight.org/document/cdc-s…
The records include guidelines that indicate all Slack messages are federal records subject to FOIA.
americanoversight.org/document/cdc-s…
In the Slack messages, public health officials talked about pandemic-related trends across the country. In one conversation on March 20, 2020, public health officials discussed a drop in emergency hospital visits at the time.
The officials also discussed how to share data, specifically making Covid-related syndromic data publicly available, as well as the tracking of non-Covid syndromic data related to suicides, accidents, and mental health.
The channel was described as a place for “open communication and collaboration relating to syndromic querying, investigations, and general surveillance for the novel coronavirus outbreak.”
The records span March to April 2020, although we had requested records starting from February. Previous records indicated the CDC had started the Slack channel and invited officials to join it in late January 2020.
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