Equity in Wastewater Surveillance: Assessment of the National Wastewater Surveillance System for COVID-19.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Wastewater surveillance has been used for COVID-19 detection, allowing for real-time responses to outbreaks and supplementing clinical testing, especially for vulnerable and under-resourced populations. The authors assessed the demographic and place-based inclusivity of the U.S. COVID-19 wastewater surveillance infrastructure overall and as surveillance expanded during the pandemic.

Methods

The authors extracted data on U.S. counties represented by the National Wastewater Surveillance System between 2020 and 2024 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and demographic and social determinants of health data from the American Community Survey. The authors used generalized linear mixed models with a logit link adjusted for population size and state as a

SUBMITTER: Alkhouri NB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12765189 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature