Wastewater surveillance continues to track COVID-19 activity, with Massachusetts showing its highest signals in months but still well below the winter surge levels. The rise in Massachusetts aligns with upticks reported in other states, including New York and California.
Experts say the uptick fits the typical seasonal pattern as people spend more time indoors in air-conditioned spaces and settle back into fall routines, including students returning to school. Andrew Lover, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, described the current movement as “not particularly worrisome” and “kind of expected” for this time of year.
Over the past few years, the largest wastewater increases have tended to peak in late August and extend through Labor Day, Lover noted. By contrast, Massachusetts has not seen the same intensity as some other states. Texas, Nevada, and Utah have reported higher levels of viral signals in wastewater, according to CDC data from early August.
The current wave is being monitored as the now-dominant variant, Stratus (XFG), continues to spread. Stratus accounted for about 65 percent of virus samples in wastewater as of Aug. 9. Determining how much Stratus is driving local cases is challenging because sequencing has slowed down in many places, making precise local assessments harder, according to Lover.
Stratus tends to produce symptoms similar to other COVID-19 variants, including fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell. Health officials are looking to updated vaccines approved earlier this year for protection against this variant. The World Health Organization has indicated that currently approved vaccines are expected to remain effective against Stratus, and the FDA-approved vaccines should offer “some pretty decent protection,” according to local experts.
One complication for fall planning is that the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee has not yet issued recommendations on booster shots for this season. Dr. Andrew Lover cautioned that vaccine uptake could be suboptimal compared with prior years, and forthcoming guidance will influence how broadly boosters are used.
The FDA is weighing whether to limit the vaccine to adults 65 and older or to high-risk individuals. If the vaccine receives approval, clinicians would be able to prescribe it to patients who might benefit, even outside those restricted groups. However, the FDA is also considering revoking authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children under five. If such an authorization is revoked, there would be no officially approved vaccine option for children younger than five, since Pfizer is currently the only vaccine option for that age group.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, in a stance that diverges from federal guidance, recommended COVID-19 vaccination for children from 6 months to 2 years old and urged that older children have access to vaccines as well.
Against this backdrop, infectious disease experts urge staying up to date with vaccines and continuing practical risk-reduction measures. Dr. Sabrina Assoumou of Boston Medical Center emphasized that vaccines protect against severe disease, hospitalization, and death. She also suggested practical steps to reduce transmission, such as moving gatherings outdoors when possible and ensuring good ventilation. If you have symptoms or are at high risk, she urged getting tested and consulting with a health professional to address your individual risk and to help break transmission chains.
Public health officials say they will wait to see how federal decisions unfold in the coming weeks before adjusting local guidance. In the meantime, clinicians and public health experts encourage vigilance, vaccination where appropriate, and timely testing as a core strategy for reducing the impact of this fall’s COVID-19 activity.