The Importance of Local Epidemiology—Results From the 2024 Big Cities Health Coalition Epidemiology Capacity Assessment

There is a need for additional epidemiologists at the local level, even in the nation's largest cities, to effectively deliver the Essential Public Health Services, and many existing staff will be lost with the end of pandemic funding. Flexible, sustained funding would allow epidemiologists to prioritize the unique needs of their communities, retain current staff and institutional knowledge, and proactively build a workforce prepared to respond to future public health emergencies.