New knowledge of the Centers for State Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Newsweek contacted the CDC by email to comment.
Nearly five years after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the country and killed millions of people around the world, the virus is still making people sick. Many Covid-19 preventative measures, such as mask-wearing and distance learning, have eased.
Viral infections sometimes accumulate during the winter months, and COVID-19 is no exception. Data shared through the CDC revealed which states showed symptoms of peak COVVI-19 activity in the final weeks of 2024.
Between December 15 and December 21, the CDC detected “very high” levels of Covid-19 in wastewater titers in 14 states: Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota , Missouri, Minnesota, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The CDC “high” in 14 states: Idaho, Utah, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine.
“Moderate” ones have been detected in 10 states.
“Low” levels were found in eight states and the District of Columbia, and “minimal” levels were found in three states. North Dakota has no data for this time period.
However, Oregon, Washington, South Dakota, Missouri and Mississippi all have limited coverage, meaning that “data for the most recent week are based on a small part (less than 5 percent) of the population and may not represent viral activity levels for the entire state,” the CDC said.
National SARS-COV-2 viral activity levels in wastewater began increasing in late November after exhibiting a decline since August.
The CDC lists symptoms of Covid-19 as fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, and diarrhea.
CDC also uses wastewater to detect RSV, influenza A, and MPOX grades. In addition to the accumulation of Covid-19 degrees, RSV and influenza A degrees have also accumulated.
The CDC on a webpage on wastewater testing: “Wastewater (sewage) can be tested for lines of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if other people do not have symptoms. You can use this knowledge as a warning early that infection levels could increase. expand or shrink in your community.
The CDC urges people to keep up with their COVID-19 vaccine, practice intelligent hygiene and take measures to avoid the propagation of germs if they are sick.
Anna Skinner is a senior reporter at Newsweek based in Indianapolis. His focus is on weather, environment and climate reporting, but he also reports on other topics for the national news team. She has covered weather replacement and weed screws extensively. Anna joined Newsweek in 2022 from Current Publishing, a local weekly newspaper in Indiana, where she worked as an editor. It is a 2021 finalist for the best and brightest award in the media, entertainment and sports category. You can contact Anna by emailing a. skinner@newsweek. com. Languages: English.