CDC Merges Flu and COVID Divisions

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is merging its Influenza Division with the Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Diseases Division to create the Influenza and Respiratory Viruses Division (IRVD). The division is tasked with preventing disease, disability and death through the control of seasonal epidemics and pandemic respiratory viral diseases. Its mandate includes disease surveillance, providing support and technical assistance to state and local health departments, and improving detection, diagnostics, vaccines and treatments. 

According to Belsie González, MPH, CDC senior public affairs specialist, the reorganization “will strengthen operational efficiency, pandemic preparedness and laboratory capabilities while streamlining coordination across CDC, federal agencies, jurisdictions and external partners, and optimizing expertise and resources.”

Combining flu and COVID-19 efforts into one division makes sense now that the latter has transitioned to a more cyclical pattern, similar to influenza and other respiratory diseases, said Washington University’s Jennifer E. Layden, MD, PhD, who headed the CDC’s data office until August 2025. “There’s efficiencies in terms of how we do surveillance rather than having siloed systems that often lead to inefficiency,” said Dr. Layden. “We can have more coordinated surveillance when we look at it across viruses.”