It seems like everyone has Covid-19. Here’s why this wave is probably worse than official data suggests
It seems like everyone has Covid-19. Here’s why this wave is probably worse than official data suggests
Covid-19 certainly didn’t take a vacation this summer. Virus levels in the US have been on the rise for weeks, but it’s hard to know exactly how widely it’s spreading.
Rates of severe disease may be staying at relatively low levels, but experts agree that there are probably more infections than the current surveillance systems can capture.
“There is more transmission out there than what the surveillance data indicates,” said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. “And we should be paying attention to it, because we are starting to see an increase.”
Weekly hospital admissions have nearly doubled over the past month, including a 19% bump in the most recent week, CDC data shows. And a sample of laboratories participating in a federal surveillance program show that test positivity rates have tripled in the past two months.
There are some hopeful signs: Biobot data shows that wastewater levels may be starting to flatten, and relatively low hospitalization rates suggest that there may be a lower risk of severe disease for many.
Physician here. The best marker we have of covid prevalence is wastewater testing. With the availability of home kits (and no reporting) and people refusing to test when symptomatic, the old markers of positivity rates and number of positive tests aren't as valid. Even hospitalization numbers can fluctuate for multiple reasons. Municipal wastewater testing truly gives a sense of covid in a population.
Covid deniers gonna start shitting in the back yard
Wastewater-based emidemiology guy here. Thank you for your recognition of the field! I work at a competitor of Biobot, and what I find interesting is the article claiming Biobot data showing a plateau, as our data is showing a significant uptick over the month of August.
On a different note, the majority of funding for WBE and wastewater surveillance comes from state/federal coffers, so please ask your colleagues to write to your representatives and ask for more funding towards WBE.
Which is interesting, because at least here in Boston, we're seeing an increase, but not a huge spike: https://www.mwra.com/biobot/biobotdata.htm
That's what I've been thinking. I can't even recall the last time I heard of anyone I know taking a PCR covid test.
And that makes it challenging trying to manage behavior. I've definitely noticed a marked uptick in people I know that have gotten covid in the past couple weeks, but when I try to look at the data to validate my anecdotal experience, it's difficult to find compared to two years ago. Oregon, for example, has wastewater monitoring, but the page used to convey the data doesn't work on mobile and is confusing to use at best.
We can barely find test kits around us, and they are stupid expensive when we do find them. Like 10 bucks apiece.
If it's still running rampant, maybe the tests should still be affordable (or better yet, free).
Just wear a mask, jeez.
Just wear a mask, jeez.
If only. I was so hopeful early in COVID that Western countries would embrace mask wearing when sick. But noooo, dipshits had to politicize it and make it a wedge issue.
You were hopeful? Hah! Leave it to US/Canada to politicize the pettiest shit.
But mah freedum!
Morons are morons and beyond common sense or rational thinking.
Yep, starting back up with that now. We’re also coming into flu season soon which is def mask season.
I want to know if there's a random unrelated bug going around too, or if this new strain just has heavy impact on the back of the throat and that is it. Seems like everyone I work with has had had some weird impossible-to-clear-your-throat virus that doesn't lead to much coughing or any sneezing so folks aren't staying home. If that's the new covid it makes a lot of sense why it would be spreading.
Ugh, I had that a few weeks ago and I still have that catarrh sensation. Gross.
I find this article weird, I can't think of anyone I know who currently has COVID, and despite the fact most people are going around maskless things seem pretty quiet on the viral front. This makes it seem like just everyone has COVID. I realize numbers are going back up but I don't think it's quite like they make it out?
I will still be masking until the dawn of time and am at six shots and counting. I absolutely do not understand why anyone stopped masking.
contrastly I know at least a handful of people in the last couple months that have had it
I work in a hospital. We have a scattered handful of people who are there for something else and also have a mild case of COVID, but nobody unvaccinated on a vent or ECMO or anything.
Completely off topic,
But wild to me that I know exactly where that Walgreens is. Surprised there ain’t a drunk stumbling in that photo.
Bs
That they know where that Walgreens is or that there's a drunk stumbling around outside that Walgreens? Because I totally buy the latter.
well that's encouraging