COVID-19 Levels In Boston Wastewater Hits Highest Point In 2 Years

BOSTON, MA — COVID-19 levels in Boston-area wastewater reached their highest point since December 2021 last week, according to the most recent data shared by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

The data, which was released on Jan. 1, shows that the seven-day average of COVID-19 RNA copies per milliliter of wastewater reached 2,743 in samples taken from the northern parts of Boston and communities to its north, and 2,583 in samples taken from southern portions of Boston and communities to its south.

For comparison, these weekly averages have rarely reached above 800 copies/mL over the past two years, and are typically much lower. For nearly the entirety of summer 2023, levels stayed below 500 copies/mL and were frequently below 300 copies/mL.

Data shows that there was also a surge in COVID-19 wastewater levels during the 2022 holiday season, though those levels never broke 2,023 copies/mL in the northern samples and 2,009 copies/mL in the southern samples.

COVID-19 wastewater levels now are still well below what they were during the late 2021/early 2022 surge, during which numbers peaked at 11,446 copies/mL in the southern samples and 8,644 copies/mL in the northern samples.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the wastewater metric "can provide information on changes in total SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection in the community contributing to that wastewater treatment plant."

In other words, an increased presence of COVID-19 in wastewater from showers, sinks, and toilets can indicate an increased infection rate in the communities where the wastewater comes from.

Samples of wastewater are taken three to seven times a week and analyzed by Cambridge-based Biobot Analytics, according to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

Experts continue to emphasize that vaccination is the best way to prevent severe disease. As of Sept. 12, the CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 illness this fall and winter.

Updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are available.