Wastewater Produces Better COVID Data, But Is Inconsistent

Even though wastewater surveillance is proving to be the most accurate and economical way to gauge COVID-19 activity in communities across the country, experts say others say funding for this type of tracking hasn’t been consistent. Many scientists now consider wastewater surveillance a more precise way to track COVID-19 activity in real time. Without wastewater surveillance, “we just don’t have a very accurate read of things,” they said. Wastewater research isn’t new. The method was used in the 1940s to track polio outbreaks. Besides COVID-19, the technique is being used to track the spread of monkeypox. Read more from Governing here.