COVID-19 Variants in Wastewater

COVID-19 Wastewater Monitoring in the U.S.

This chart shows the average relative proportions of SARS-COV-2 virus variants in wastewater at the national level.  Variants constituting less than 5% abundance are categorized as "Other."

Wastewater data are updated every Friday with the previous week's data, which allows for data to be reviewed for accuracy. Data may change as more reports are received.

Predominant Variant

All lineages not enumerated in this graphic are aggregated with their parent lineages, based on Pango statement of nomenclature rules.

Downloadable Data

Wastewater data on SARS-CoV-2 variants are available at the jurisdiction level.

Downloadable Data

Wastewater data on SARS-CoV-2 variants are available at the jurisdiction level.

This chart shows proportions of SARS-CoV-2 variants and sublineages in wastewater over time for contributing wastewater treatment plants with reported sequencing data by collection week. The proportion of SARS-CoV-2 variants in each sequenced sample were assigned using Freyja and averaged nationally. All lineages not enumerated are aggregated with their parent lineages, based on the Pango statement of nomenclature rules. Any variants making up less than 5% of the national weekly average were categorized into the “Other” category. These data are not from clinical specimens, but this information complements other systems used to track the emergence and prevalence of variants in US communities. See Summary of Variant Surveillance on COVID Data Tracker for more information.

Predominant variant refers to the most abundant variant collected during the week that was three weeks before the current one, to allow for lags in sequencing. Data from the most recent weeks may be incomplete due to delays in data reporting, and the proportions for previous weeks may change as more data are reported. Certain geographic areas have a higher density of sampling sites, limiting the ability to generalize these results regionally or nationally.