A graph showing COVID wastewater levels in the Boston area as of Jan. 3, 2024. The trend line shows COVID-19 being detected at higher levels than any time since the omicron surge of 2021-2022.
Levels of COVID-19 in the Boston area surged to two-year highs during the recent holidays, according to the region's latest wastewater data.
The last time COVID levels were this high was during the omicron surge from the winter of 2021-2022, according to the most recent update on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's COVID wastewater page. The amount of COVID in wastewater is widely used to track how prevalent the virus is regionally.
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The data, up to date as of Jan. 3, backs up warnings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has said that COVID and flu infections would likely rise through holiday gatherings, too many unvaccinated people and a new version of the coronavirus that may be spreading more easily.
"The wastewater data are really our key indicator of how much COVID is out there," Tufts Medical Center's Dr. Shira Doron said last week. "And what we see now is quite high level of COVID wastewater."
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The latest COVID wastewater update does suggest that the surge of the virus may be leveling off, though more data will likely be released later this week to shed further light on the state of the virus. And while the current surge is higher than last winter's, both peaks are dwarfed by the omicron surge.
Hospitals have been changing mask policies in light of the rise in respiratory viruses, including at Massachusetts General Brigham's clinics and hospitals. The hospital system announced last week that staff will wear masks with patients, who were also strongly encouraged to do so but not required to.
About 17% of emergency room visits in the Bay State are for respiratory virus infections, Dr. Larry Madoff, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's medical director of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, told NBC10 Boston last week.
"Hospitals are packed to the gills," Madoff said. "Emergency room wait times are high and there's a lot of congestion there."
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State data shows about 18% of the population is up to date on their COVID vaccines, compared with 37% who got the flu shot this season.
"We're disappointed in the numbers," Madoff said, encouraging more people to get booster shots.
