The Covid 19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of access to data to ensure that authorities can make informed decisions in the event of a crisis. However, there are currently three types of barriers preventing access and use of data: (i) technical barriers, especially the lack of uniform data formats and semantics; (ii) legal barriers, especially data protection that limits the use of personal data; and (iii) societal barriers, especially the lack of data literacy and trust. This call for action presents ways to overcome these barriers and proposes new governance mechanisms for the access and use of data in public health crises.