IMPORTANT The US CDC has announced that, going forward, reported SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels will be normalized to an endemic baseline "Zero" on this baseline will be levels in the previous year @evanblake17.bsky.social @benjaminmateus.bsky.social
What this means is that the level of SARS-CoV-2 virus circulating in the environment will be reported as the difference between current readings & the readings of a year ago If January of 2024 the reading was 1,000 and in January 2025 it's also 1,000, wastewater levels will be reported as 0 (zero) It is difficult to fathom just how cynical this is It's a bureaucratic admission that not only do we need to live with a constant and very high amount of SARS-CoV-2 virus around us but that this constant and very high amount will represent "normal." The first chart here are SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels from 2022 to present prior to baseline normalization The second chart is the same thing but just for 2024 The third is a (predicted) chart for 2025 assuming wastewater levels in 2025 are similar to 2024 Much less scary, eh? That's the intent