Anonymous #1 3w

Also I don’t want to pretend I’m the victim here, immunocompromised people are the actual ones being harmed. My anxiety’s not something I can just will away, but it’s still shitty that this is getting in the way of me helping to literally prevent deaths

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Anonymous #1 3w

Jon Hopkins University was a really trustworthy source throughout the pandemic.

1

Anonymous #1 3w

the problem is that in the US, extremely little covid tracking is being done in general. there’s no clinical testing infrastructure left, hospitals haven’t been required to report cases since May 2024, and very few wastewater monitoring programs (which Would be the most effective tool for determining infection rates by area) remain—there aren’t any reliable comprehensive nationwide data reporting sites because there are so few ongoing data sources to collect from (1/2)

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Anonymous #1 3w

but to be clear, this doesn’t indicate anything about the actual state of viral circulation over here, it’s just the Trump administration playing “if we ignore it then we can pretend we ‘beat’ it” (alongside a host of other similarly cynical & counterproductive motives) but if you need evidence that it’s still a problem, every few months or so there are still reports on surges / spikes coming out of popular & well-known national news outlets. I’ll link some recent ones below (2/2)

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Anonymous #1 3w

https://www.axios.com/2025/11/08/covid-cases-symptoms-variants-november-2025 https://parade.com/health/most-common-covid-symptoms-november-2025 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-is-beginning-to-surge-globally-what-are-the-symptoms-and-how-serious/ https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/covid-is-surging-again-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-vaccine/2025/09

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Anonymous #3 3w

Thank you!

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Anonymous #1 3w

wastewater data is one of the most reliable ways to track how quickly a disease is spreading. there might be other sites out there, but the CDC does keep an up-to-date record. https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-national-data.html

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Anonymous #4 3w

data.wastewaterscan.org tracks some other diseases too

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Anonymous #4 3w

unfortunately if you look into the specifics, the CDC’s wastewater monitoring program has less and less reporting centers to operate off of at this point. this means areas marked as low-transmission are often an indication of insubstantial data rather than an accurate representation of circulation levels

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Anonymous #3 3w

damn. i didn’t know that. i just knew that wastewater testing usually catches cases that never made it to the hospital. but i guess it doesn’t make much of a difference if they’re not testing much anyway. *sigh*

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Anonymous #1 3w

also worth mentioning that masking isn’t *only* a necessity during surges—in fact, part of the reason we’ve ended up in this pattern of frequent recurring surges is because tons of people totally abandon precautions once the rate of transmission seems to have decreased slightly. the all-or-nothing mentality creates a vicious cycle

9

Anonymous #1 3w

so a more functional & appropriate model of risk assessment-based decision-making might look like 1) avoiding crowded dense indoor events during peak transmission but still attending (masked) the rest of the time, or 2) loosening up your masking standards for *outdoor* spaces when we aren’t in a surge period (you can still catch it outdoors, but it’s much less likely, except for in crowded areas)

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Anonymous #4 3w

yeah, they’ve stayed awfully quiet about the dataset progressively shrinking, the map is set up to make it look like they have info on more regions than they really do. I had to look up the site for my county’s wastewater program just to learn that my area (which contains a major progressive-leaning city, even) wasn’t actually being reported anymore

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Anonymous #1 3w

https://peoplescdc.org/ (if instagram is easier to follow they have one) I'll gather some more resources from my circle but you can also check maskbloc.org for groups local to you who may share local statistics (if they're available), zines, and events

5

Anonymous #1 3w

I had social anxiety (recently stopped fitting the diagnostic criteria) and while standing out has been hard (though more people are masking now than in the last few years because being sick and missing class/work/special events isn't worth it in general) I think being able to hide whatever facial expressions I might be making that would make me feel like I'm standing out anyway is helpful in my recovery. I make jewelry for my masks (mask chains) that make it feel happier to wear it.

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Anonymous #5 3w

another note about wastewater, it's estimated to only detect 40%-80% of cases present in the area being monitored Walgreens has brought back info on how many people getting tested are positive but that only reflects the people with the privilege to afford it, aren't living in denial, and the up to 60(?)% of people who are not getting a false negative on RAT I run linktr.ee/maskingappalachia which has some info focused on debunking & showing that actually we are all varying levels of vulnerable

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Anonymous #5 3w

oh and as for data visibility manipulation, the CDC wastewater map has had the color changed mant times to make people feel less alarmed when looking at it, and instead of being done on the actual numbers (which were repeatedly manipulated to show higher numbers as lower risk) it's done on a curve now so that there is always an area of "low" levels when it's actually just showing low in comparison to others

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Anonymous #5 3w

oh goddamn, I wasn’t aware the low end of the estimate for wastewater monitoring was quite so low 😨 thank you for your time & effort btw, it would be impossible to overstate just how grateful I am for the proliferation of mask blocs

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Anonymous #1 3w

Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack is also a really good source.

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Anonymous #1 3w

ask your local pharmacist for the best nearby sources of wastewater data; sometimes they are smaller universities

2

Anonymous OP 3w

Oh fr? I didn’t know that. Metaphorically fuck the bigots.

1