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The federal shutdown has frozen national respiratory virus surveillance, leaving the CDC’s flu, Covid-19 and RSV reports weeks out of date just as activity rises. Measles tracking continues, but key tools like FluView, RESP-NET and the Respiratory Illness Data Channel are paused, creating blind spots for hospitals, states and the public. Some state dashboards and independent efforts help, yet experts warn that lost coordination hampers preparedness, vaccine decisions and trust. They also expect a slow, costly catch-up amid CDC workforce turmoil and fear further delays in vaccine coverage reporting.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.