PMC COVID-19 Tracker, Dec 4, 2023
The U.S. surge is worsening faster than anticipated.
Today:
🔹1.2 million daily infections
🔹1 in 38 infectious (2.6%)
In 4 weeks (New Year's Day):
🔹1.8 million daily infections
🔹1 in 26 infectious (3.9%)
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You'll note the diverging forecasts. Biobot #wastewater levels increased more than anticipated this week, and they updated last week's numbers upward too.
The cheetah forecast (yellow) assumes this week's levels will also get revised upward like last week's. The turtle model (green) ignores this week's data as an aberration. The real-time forecast (purple), which assumes all real-time estimates are accurate, is barely visible behind the red line. The red line is the composite average of all 3 forecasts.
You'll notice the blue line (wastewater levels) and red line (forecast) overlap marginally. Biobot reports levels for Nov 29, and we carry them forward in the forecasting model through Dec 4 (today). Transmission is accelerating so much, usually this 5 day lag isn't even visible graphically.
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This table shows how additional social contacts increase risk today (Dec 4).
🔥10 people (daycare, team meeting) = about a 1 in 4 chance someone has infectious COVID
🔥🔥30 people (large K-12 class) = over a 50% chance someone has infectious COVID
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This table shows how socializing on Christmas will drive the worst of the winter surge. Estimates are revised upward today (Dec 4).
⭐️Large fam gathering (20 people) = over a 50% chance someone's infectious
This table shows the risk of socializing on New Year's Day. Finger crossed, the surge should peak around then.
Not a great time to party. 🎉🎉
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Zooming out to the full pandemic shows the harm of the 8th U.S. Covid wave.
🔹More daily infections than 89% of the pandemic
🔹>25x more actual than reported cases
🔹>60,000 #LongCovid cases/day eventually resulting from these infections
🔹Winter peak like last year
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Here's the full PMC Dashboard for Dec 4 to Jan 1.
You can read the full report here:
Thank you for your continued questions, suggestions, gratitude, and sharing across other platforms. Please offer any success stories to encourage others.
The PMC website includes an international directory of websites with COVlD wastewater monitoring. It is more up to date than the directories of the EU and WHO.
Let's review what's happening in Europe...
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Data in #Austria show a rising COVlD wave. The x axis (bottom) has infrequent labels, but the data shown go through October 8th.
An estimated 1 in 81 people are actively infectious during the ongoing 11th wave.
The "shutdown" has created a blackout at the state level.
Transmission is half that of the peak one month ago, and we anticipate a relative national "lull" in early-to-mid November, albeit still at dangerous levels.
Our model uses a combination of CDC and Biobot data, so we are able to estimate national statistics despite the CDC data going offline. On the map, note that Puerto Rico continues to update; they use a CDC-style system but were dropped by the CDC long ago. For full methodology, review the technical appendix on the website.
PMC COVlD Update, Week of Oct 6, 2025 (U.S.)
🧵2/9
#DuringCOVID is today. We estimate >600,000 new daily infections. This is about half the peak on September 6.
Notice current levels are similar to the estimated peaks of the first 3 waves.
PMC COVlD Update, Week of Oct 6, 2025 (U.S.)
🧵3/9
Weekly estimates:
🔹4.5 million infections
🔹>200,000 resulting long-term health conditions
🔹>1,300 resulting excess deaths
Key points in my letter to the pharmacy boards. 🧵1/7
Georgia law indicates that the pharmacy board is to follow ACIP. They do not dictate further nuance. Georgia continues to require prescriptions, going against the spirit of the law, ACIP, and 47 other states.
🧵2/7
Louisiana law tells the pharmacy board to follow ACIP. ACIP says do not require a prescription, and 47 other states agree.
The Louisiana pharmacy board continues to require a prescription.
On the back end of this unprecedented 11th wave, "times they are a-changin." In particular, COVlD levels are shifting north and east.
Notice that few states are in the highest and lowest categories. Much of the south and west have considerable transmission post-peak. Many places in the north and east are seeing steady or increasing transmission after relatively lower levels.
Overall, levels are lower than the past few weeks, but transmission remains considerable. Those relying on anecdata (friends, coworkers, and family infected) may increasingly realize we are in a wave.
We estimate nearly 750,000 new daily infections nationwide, meaning approximately 1 in 66 people or 1.5% are actively infectious.
These estimates are derived by linking wastewater levels to IHME true case estimates using methodology commonly employed worldwide, detailed on the website, noted in a pre-print. Many publications in leading medical journals link wastewater data to key metrics that matter, noted in the online technical appendix.
In this week's report, we note adding North Dakota and Puerto Rico to the heat map in support of health equity. We have been imputing ND levels since the launch of PMC 3.0 using data from neighboring states. PR continues to report qualitative levels using the CDC format but is not longer included on the CDC website.
1/8 🧵
PMC COVlD Update, Sep 29, 2025 (U.S.)
State-level prevalence estimates, AL to MS. The levels use CDC labels, which tend to have an optimistic portrayal of risk. For example, CO is listed at "low" (by our estimate 1.5% infectious).
#MaskUp at 1.5% if having lapsed.
2/8 🧵
PMC COVlD Update, Sep 29, 2025 (U.S.)
State-level prevalence estimates, Missouri to Wyoming.
New York had *huge* retroactive upward corrections, and is now "High," as many residents hypothesized.
Note, Puerto Rico only provides CDC qualitative levels, so no data.