State officials in the U.S. say they still have far too few epidemiologists, a C.D.C. survey finds.

Although the variety of epidemiologists in state well being departments surged through the pandemic, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention reported on Thursday that states had been nonetheless far in need of the general public well being workforces that officers mentioned they wanted.

The report, based mostly on a survey from early 2021 of state epidemiologists from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, bolstered broader considerations that public well being staff throughout the nation are much less outfitted to reply to a pandemic now than they had been in the beginning of 2020.

Even because the variety of state epidemiologists grew, particularly in fields just like the Covid-19 response, staffing normally infectious illnesses, power illnesses, and maternal and baby well being declined, the C.D.C. mentioned. Epidemiologists are chargeable for monitoring illness, growing responses, investigating well being threats and finding out public well being providers and well being care.

And though the variety of state epidemiologists grew by 23 % from 2017 to 2021, to a complete of 4,136 positions, fewer states mentioned in 2021 that that they had the assets to completely monitor inhabitants well being points and to analyze and diagnose hazards that would have an effect on individuals.

In all, state officers mentioned they wanted one other 2,196 epidemiologists to offer fundamental public well being providers, the survey discovered.

“The Covid-19 response has strained the U.S. public well being system,” the C.D.C. report mentioned. “Workforce and capability wants stay unmet.”

The federal authorities has poured cash into public well being response actions through the pandemic, together with $7.66 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, the C.D.C. mentioned. It’s not clear how states’ public well being wants or staffing ranges had modified for the reason that survey was carried out in 2021.

The C.D.C. warned that public well being wanted predictable ranges of funding over longer durations.

Public well being was typically underfunded and uncared for even earlier than the pandemic. A mixture of unpredictable funding, lowered authority to impose well being orders and staffing issues have made the work of state and native public well being departments all of the tougher.

Funding for epidemiology was fragile, the C.D.C. reported. In 2021, epidemiology actions relied on federal cash for 85 % of their budgets, however states had been uncertain how lengthy that cash would final: 39 % of the federal cash was designated for Covid-19 work over restricted time durations.

The C.D.C. report tracked epidemiology positions solely in state well being departments, and never in different state companies.

Among the many fields wherein states reported being the shortest-staffed had been genomics, psychological well being, oral well being and occupational well being.