Wastewater Could Help Us Move From A Pandemic To Endemic State

The CDC is using wastewater surveillance to track COVID-19 trends in communities. This method detects the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater, providing early indicators of infection rates. The CDC's Wastewater Tracker collects data from 400 sites across 19 states. Researchers, like those at Stanford University, believe this can help transition from pandemic to endemic states by detecting low levels of COVID-19. However, interpreting wastewater data has challenges. The CDC plans to expand this surveillance to include other health threats like influenza and E. coli.

What concerns have critics raised regarding wastewater data interpretation?

What is the main metric that the CDC's wastewater tracker will focus on?