--- description: CDC flu tracking will continue during the government shutdown, according to a Department of Health and Human Service contingency plan. title: CDC Flu Tracking Will Go On During the Government Shutdown image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta64b4fd919d76b47/6988f73386f68e4ff96e7cb9/cdc-headquarters.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Public Health](/tag/public-health/) ## Public Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # CDC Flu Tracking Will Continue Despite the Government Shutdown  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jan 20, 2018 3:35 PM CUT  The CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jan 20, 2018 3:35 PM CUT The CDC will continue tracking this year’s [particularly severe flu season](http://time.com/5105929/why-is-the-flu-so-bad-2018/ "undefined") during the government shutdown, according to a [contingency plan from the Department of Health and Human Services](https://www.hhs.gov/about/budget/fy-2018-hhs-contingency-staffing-plan/index.html#summary-of-activities "undefined"). While the government is shut down, only federal activity deemed essential remains uninterrupted — and, according to the HHS document, that will include influenza monitoring and reporting. “CDC’s immediate response to urgent disease outbreaks, including seasonal influenza, would continue,” the plan says. “To continue ongoing influenza surveillance, CDC would collect data being reported by states, hospitals and others, and report out critical information needed for state and local health authorities and providers to track, prevent and treat the disease.” The [CDC tracks a host of data related to the flu](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluactivitysurv.htm "undefined"), including [its spread across the country](http://time.com/5108077/2018-flu-map/ "undefined"), confirmed cases and [deaths and hospitalizations related to the virus](http://time.com/5099042/influenza-deaths-flu/ "undefined"). The 2018 flu season, which has been particularly active, has kept the agency especially busy, even prompting a [last-minute briefing on the topic last week](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/t0112-widespread-flu-activity.html "undefined"). Despite the continuation of flu tracking, however, the CDC is likely to be short-staffed during the shutdown. Sixty-three percent of CDC employees, some 8,500 people, will be furloughed during the shutdown, according to the HHS plan. Half of all HHS employees — including those from the FDA, NIH and other health agencies — will be furloughed, according to the report. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5111119/cdc-flu-tracking-government-shutdown/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5111119/cdc-flu-tracking-government-shutdown/"},"headline":"CDC Flu Tracking Will Continue Despite the Government Shutdown","datePublished":"2018-01-20T15:35:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:56:59.846Z","description":"But 63% of its employees will be furloughed","url":"https://time.com/5111119/cdc-flu-tracking-government-shutdown/","keywords":["Public Health","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta64b4fd919d76b47/6988f73386f68e4ff96e7cb9/cdc-headquarters.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta64b4fd919d76b47/6988f73386f68e4ff96e7cb9/cdc-headquarters.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CDC Chief Dr. Thomas Frieden Updates Media On Dallas Ebola Response","caption":"CDC Chief Dr. Thomas Frieden Updates Media On Dallas Ebola Response","creditText":"Jessica McGowan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5111119/cdc-flu-tracking-government-shutdown/","name":"CDC Flu Tracking Will Continue Despite the Government Shutdown"}}]}] ```