Post

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."

Is it possible the “baseline” will allow for negative numbers? At least that would make it clear that zero ain’t zero

The thing scaring me right now is the lack of units on the y axis.

@threadreaderapp.bsky.social Unroll

Hello, I'm building an app for this. @unroll.skywriter.blue unroll

If someone tried to publish this in a scientific journal, it would not pass peer review. Or if it did, it would later get retracted. At least I would hope…

Over thirty million people have died worldwide from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus -- tens of thousands of them children And you choose to focus on the academic peer review process without acknowledging its role in allowing this to happen?

Any idea why COVID spread is predicted to be so low in 2025? Did vax rates go up while I wasn’t looking?