Recent CDC data from wastewater shows that nearly half of the United States reported "very high" levels of COVID-19 activity.
The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that last month nearly half of the United States have reported "very high" levels of COVID-19 activity.
As concerns with COVID have waned across the U.S., the CDC has come to rely on wastewater data to track the virus, which often lags several weeks behind current case counts.
Data collected between Aug. 25 and Aug. 31 by the CDC showed that 23 states have reported "very high" levels of wastewater viral activity nationwide. The data was published on Sept. 5.
Here are the overall numbers of the states and territories that have reported wastewater viral activity levels as of Aug. 31.
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Note: Typically, wastewater data are updated weekly and the data that is published shows the results for the prior week. However, the results can take up to five days to a week to be published online. Thus, the data from Aug. 31 is considered the most recent data.
Here are the overall numbers of the states and territories that have reported wastewater viral activity levels as of Aug. 31.
COVID-19 Current Wastewater Viral Activity Levels Map
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What is the current variant that has the highest amount of COVID-19 cases?
The CDC's Nowcast data tracker, which displays COVID-19 estimates and projections for two-week periods, projected the KP.3.1.1 variant accounting for 42.2% of positive infections, followed by KP.2.3 at 14.6% in the two-week stretch starting Aug.18 and ending Aug. 31.
"The KP.3.1.1 variant is very similar to other circulating variants in the United States. All current lineages are descendants of JN.1, which emerged in late 2023," Rosa Norman, a spokesperson at the CDC, previously told USA TODAY.
Changes in COVID-19 test positivity within a week
Data collected by the CDC shows that six Southern states making up Region 6 had the biggest decrease (-4.4%) in positive COVID-19 cases from Aug. 25, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2024.
Here's the list of states and their regions' changes in COVID-19 positivity for the past week:
The CDC outlines the basic symptoms of COVID-19 on its website. These symptoms can appear between two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can range from mild to severe.
The CDC said you should seek medical attention if you have the following symptoms: