wastewater surveillance

The U.S.’s low lull in COVID-19 spread continues. Disease levels in wastewater and healthcare data remain very low through early June. While there are possible increases in some places, particularly in the Midwest and South, it’s unclear if a summer wave — which we’ve seen every year since the pandemic began — is starting soon.…

National COVID-19 estimates have remained very low in the U.S. through the end of May. There are signals of potential increases in some locations, but it’s hard to say if these represent isolated outbreaks or the start of a summer wave. Meanwhile, future funding for wastewater surveillance is under threat.

A record-breaking COVID-19 lull has continued in the U.S. through late May. The latest national estimates for SARS-CoV-2 spread are the lowest they have been since spring 2021. While there are signs of possible case increases in some locations, these are preliminary and difficult to interpret.

CDC data continue to come back online following the end of the government shutdown. Those data indicate that COVID-19 levels through mid-November remain much lower than what we see during surges, but are starting to increase in parts of the U.S.; different metrics disagree on which parts. More outbreaks are likely to follow the holiday…

The U.S.’s summer COVID-19 surge continues, with cases increasing across all regions through early August, driven by travel and gatherings as well as the variant XFG. Despite the obvious increases in COVID-19 spread, the CDC’s wastewater dashboard — which recently updated its methodology — downplays current viral activity levels as “low.”