Jo-Ellyn Klein Quoted in Bloomberg Article on Biden Admin.’s Plans for Sharing COVID Data

Akin Gump health care and life sciences senior counsel Jo-Ellyn Sakowitz Klein has been quoted in the Bloomberg article “Health Records Challenge Biden Push for Covid Data Sharing.” The article reports that privacy concerns could create a challenge for the Biden administration and its plans to get information collected on COVID outbreaks and responses from state and local health authorities to the federal government.

An executive order signed by President Biden last week directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the interoperability of public health data systems nationwide. Sharing data about COVID across the government would help direct vaccines and other resources to those with the greatest need, the article says, but federal law governs how certain information can be shared.

“There’s an inherent tension between the privacy needs of an individual and the public health needs of society,” said Klein, who focuses on privacy and data protection. “Here the stakes are really high.”