by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to stop tracking the spread of Covid in communities across the US, the agency said Friday.
In the future, the CDC is expected to rely more on Covid-related hospitalizations, according to two people familiar with the plans, just as they do to track the spread of the flu.
The agency has been using a color-coded system since February 2022 to indicate high, medium, or low transmission of covid, county by county.
But as reported cases have steadily declined and the availability of rapid home tests has increased, it has become difficult to get an accurate picture of how much of the virus is circulating.
The CDC is expected to announce the new tracking system in the coming weeks. The news was first reported by CNN.
The CDC said the move away from community-level transmission monitoring is tied to the May 11 expiration of the national public health emergency.
“With the end of the public health emergency, CDC will no longer obtain the same data. We are working to update the measure used to convey the risk of COVID-19 in communities based on data that will become available,” a spokesperson for the CDC wrote. the CDCs. in an email. “Our priority remains providing the information necessary to protect the nation’s public health.”
Even in areas with low levels of spread, the CDC recommends staying up to date with covid vaccinations. Last week, the agency approved a second round of booster shots for people 65 and older.
According to the cdc tracker, the average number of weekly cases has been falling steadily since early January. As of April 26, the weekly average was 88,330 cases.
