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Vermont is changing how it tracks Covid-19 in the state's wastewater
https://vtdigger.org/2023/12/03/vermont-is-changing-how-it-tracks-covid-19-in-the-states-wastewater/Vermont is changing how it tracks Covid-19 in the state’s wastewater
Experts believe the new system will provide a clearer picture of Covid and leave the door open for more disease tracking.
By Erin Petenko
December 3, 2023, 6:03 am
Bob Fischer, water quality superintendent for South Burlington, remembers when researchers first realized that they could track the health of a population through its sewer system decades ago.
Measuring all the molecules and organisms that can show up in wastewater requires techniques and tools that started to be developed in the 1980s and 1990s.
Vermont needs VTDigger. VTDigger needs you.
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Back then, public health officials discussed using it to track drug use at a citywide level. Fischer noticed then that the levels of one substance in particular — caffeine — would go up in the bay whenever University of Vermont students would come back for a semester, and that still happens.
[...]
However, since the Vermont Department of Health began including wastewater information in its weekly Covid reports in 2022, the tracking effort has been plagued with missing data and confusing or contradictory indicators. For example, figures have sometimes varied wildly from week to week.
[...]
Experts believe the new system will provide a clearer picture of Covid and leave the door open for more disease tracking.
By Erin Petenko
December 3, 2023, 6:03 am
Bob Fischer, water quality superintendent for South Burlington, remembers when researchers first realized that they could track the health of a population through its sewer system decades ago.
Measuring all the molecules and organisms that can show up in wastewater requires techniques and tools that started to be developed in the 1980s and 1990s.
Vermont needs VTDigger. VTDigger needs you.
Our reporters work around the clock to bring you news you rely on. If you value this work, please support it with a contribution during our annual member drive. Contribute to local news
Back then, public health officials discussed using it to track drug use at a citywide level. Fischer noticed then that the levels of one substance in particular — caffeine — would go up in the bay whenever University of Vermont students would come back for a semester, and that still happens.
[...]
However, since the Vermont Department of Health began including wastewater information in its weekly Covid reports in 2022, the tracking effort has been plagued with missing data and confusing or contradictory indicators. For example, figures have sometimes varied wildly from week to week.
[...]