AMERICANS:
The CDC's wastewater monitoring program could end as soon as 9/30 if nothing is done about it. COVID, influenza, RSV, measles or polio could be raging and without wastewater data, you would be none the wiser. Write to your congressperson now: actionnetwork.org/letters/cong...
![GoFundMe template image. Top half: South Asian child in a hospital bed. Text in the bottom half:
"Help Samaya Recover
$13,910 to goal
[Heart icon]
Donate now! [Thumbs up icon]
www.gofundme.com/f/emyat5-help-samaya-recove..."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreihue7q25bejf5fishg6idooaizsz3nqnlxuvfnjcknjkxpbaxpbv4)
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Passage from the Vancouver Sun article from September 15: “...in a new approach we are trying - we can test for illicit substances like cocaine or fentanyl.”
Passage from the Pacific Public Health Foundation’s website: “...The pilot project may provide timely knowledge of trends in the use of unregulated drugs which can help influence healthy public policy and ensure programs and policies keep pace with the changing needs and landscape of this emergency...”
“Having access to near real-time data at a localized level, when combined with other unregulated drug surveillance methods, may be an incredible benefit when communities are in need of urgent interventions to prevent deaths and save lives.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreiadjxlusdx75bmy6ldw5rmhtzpcnrecypyqwe6ymkhcryt2r3iitu)
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Passage from the Vancouver Sun article from September 15.
As Vancouver grows into an entertainment hub, this kind of expanded public health measure is vital. This invisible work keeps populations safe - before, during and after an event. [Commentary: What would keep the population safe before + after an event more than adequate wastewater surveillance all the time?]
[...] "The idea is being able to expand the [wastewater surveillance] program when we have these huge influxes of people in Vancouver for big events like the Taylor Swift concert or FIFA. It's for when we need enhanced surveillance." [Commentary: What about smaller events and mundane occurrences that turn into superspreaders? A weekly rehearsal session of the Skagit Valley Chorale on 3/10/2020 turned into one. Even bus rides can be superspreaders, like one that took place in Zhejiang on 1/19/2020.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreih67zmw5oxjssyz27lptkoshntiuatx4uzw7fezneuhor6penoixi)
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Screenshots from the wastewater surveillance dashboard taken on November 14, 2025.
Key messages: Magnitude and trends are compared to the most recently completed respiratory season (August 2024 - August 2025). Wastewater data should be considered in combination with clinical data for respiratory viral trends.
Below: 2 line graphs representing RNA concentrations at the Victoria and Comox Valley wastewater treatment plants over the past year, with “seasonal magnitude bands” (horizontal blocks of color from green to off-white to orange) in the background (representing the past “respiratory season’s” concentrations? – this is never explained)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreibwbropuxwhln7k6bjhlrqgygxjty5j6ueiacl44utzoqzwf53azi)
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2 superimposed line graphs, one representing all samples taken at the Comox Valley wastewater treatment plant and the other only Tuesday samples. If 1 wastewater sample is taken per week instead of 3, the sample may either be drawn on days with very high RNA concentrations, or days when RNA concentrations have dipped below the limit of detection. Drawing 3 samples per week better represented day-to-day fluctuations in the concentration of RNA in wastewater and was more likely to detect the days when it was above the limit of detection.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreih5i7tjnsswy42n5nfhldj4jhb3dmf4ee76haed47dts5ezfnh75i)
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Same Vancouver Sun header from September 15, with the following from the BCCDC’s wastewater surveillance dashboard below:
Report updated on September 18, 2025. [...]
The wastewater surveillance program has implemented some new changes starting September 11, 2025:
1) The number of wastewater treatment plants tested has been changed to eight province wide, as opposed to previously twelve wastewater treatment plants.
2) There will now be one sample collected per wastewater treatment plant per week, as opposed to previously three samples per treatment plant per week.
3) Sequencing of wastewater samples will change from weekly to every two weeks.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreib6yxc7fex4ajkjfjblsza7iiyvjgpviu5jv4xuk6ralp3bfyylta)
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Vancouver Sun article “Vancouver expands wastewater surveillance to safeguard public health” published September 15, 2025.
Quote: Prystajecky notes that wastewater surveillance became well-known during the COVID-19 pandemic when the BCCDC updated its wastewater tracking system to test sewage from five Metro Vancouver treatment plants. The program provided weekly updates on virus levels and variants, helping health officials respond quicker to the changing trends. [3 days later, only 3 Metro Vancouver wastewater treatment plants remained: Iona, Annacis, Lulu Island. The Northwest Langley and Lion's Gate plants were removed from surveillance.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreif2aol4tdxxtwakmawxkbgpzhx3iahzjyo3fggovzkrf6drznpvx4)
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Second page of the May 2025 edition of the BC Pharmacare Newsletter continued.
Pharmacists are encouraged to remind people that:
• Provincially supplied kits do not expire until May or June 2026 [commentary: As if SARS-COV-2 would've disappeared by then. And what about the people who missed the announcement?]
• Test kits are not needed as they once were because COVID-19 is in decline [commentary: We'll still need a way to test for it.]
• Kits have been distributed for free in B.C. since 2020, with demand on a steep decline [commentary: SOURCE? And so what?]
• Kits will be available for private purchase at many pharmacies in the future [commentary: And shift the onus of buying them onto people making $1,500 a month!]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreiebnmx7ofespkudhu7yjoo27ln6til4fuovnkzsbijvetfz426sr4)
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Second page of the May 2025 edition of the BC Pharmacare Newsletter.
[....] PharmaCare is winding down distribution of COVID-19 rapid-antigen test (RAT) kits.
[...] Distributors will continue to supply tests at no cost to pharmacies while program supplies last. [...] Pharmacies wishing to provide RAT kits after the provincial distribution program ends can do so through a private-pay model.
[...] The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) currently recommends COVID-19 testing only for symptomatic people when a positive result would impact treatment or care (e.g., the person is at risk of more severe disease[...]). [commentary: What about the 44% of asymptomatic cases? Do “at-risk” people not have any contact with the “outside world?” Who infects us??]
People who do not meet the criteria should monitor their symptoms and limit their activities to avoid spreading any infection, as they did before RAT kits were readily available.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreidgg7s3luqfpi4ggk6q7z5zzkwgss5bsphzk66q4kn5ql2nfgeuqa)
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Slightly edited screenshot of the Government of BC’s Practitioner & Professional Resources page for rapid antigen test (RAT) kits.
In a rectangular outline: “As of June 30, 2025, PharmaCare has ended payments to pharmacies for distribution of RAT kits.”
Header: RAT kit distribution fee program has ended.
Bottom of the page is obscured with a piece of paper.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreiduwfkwj6ra2eaux7hqng6fk3pypatpewssrvafcszmbqhc5dtubq)
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Slightly edited screenshot of the first page of the May 2025 edition of the BC Pharmacare Newsletter.
Sidebar: “The PharmaCare Newsletter is published by the Pharmaceutical, Laboratory & Blood Services Division to provide information to B.C’s healthcare providers.”
Table of contents:
RAT kit distribution program winds down [headers below that are irrelevant]
Bottom of the page is obscured with a piece of paper.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreigtn6rmob7tsjmposudpwullrrbk4wxymukiz7ccudgdxbkdeiffq)
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Graph of volume and lag of BCCDC uploads to GISAID. Since April 16, the volume of the uploads has fallen from hundreds to <100, and the lag (time from each sample’s collection to the submission of their data) has increased by roughly 1-2 weeks.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreici7y3ml3rwsun6qmcqmmoqucqi5v5qj3bprlx5ksvqelvwxgeihu)
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The silent erosion of COVID-19 awareness & management in B.C.:
A TIMELINE
[A timeline of the year 2025 and the January of 2026. Numbered diamonds are placed on the timeline to mark the events below.]
1. April 16: Amount & timeliness of SARS-CoV-2 sample data uploaded to GISAID, an online repository, deteriorate.
2. May: The end of RAT Kit Distribution Program is announced in a professional newsletter. This provided free RAT kits to pharmacies.
3. May 31: RAT kits orders from this day onwards would not be reimbursed.
4. June: The BCCDC page dedicated to how COVID-19 spreads is removed.
5. September 1: Under the MSP, less than 20 people will be allowed in an online group medical visit. Scores of bed and housebound people will lose telehealth access to a long COVID and ME/CFS clinic. Delayed until January.
6. September 15: Sponsored Vancouver Sun article suggests the program that generates SARS-CoV-2 data from wastewater samples would be expanded and describes the then-current state of the program.
7. September 18: The wastewater surveillance program is cut: 8 of 12 wastewater treatment plants will no longer be monitored, and 1 sample will be taken per week instead of 3.
8. October 14: The year's vaccination campaign starts with widespread shortages.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreicfxyqn7yche43lpphoqb6slre4klaq6t4imyqeyzc7ohly5awrga)
![[Text on an yellow octagon meant to look like the output of an overhead projector.]
The silent erosion of COVID-19 awareness & management in B.C.:
A TIMELINE
[A timeline of the year 2025 and the January of 2026. Numbered diamonds are placed on the timeline to mark the events below.]
1. April 16: Amount & timeliness of SARS-CoV-2 sample data uploaded to GISAID, an online repository, deteriorate.
2. May: The end of RAT Kit Distribution Program is announced in a professional newsletter. This provided free RAT kits to pharmacies.
3. May 31: RAT kits orders from this day onwards would not be reimbursed.
4. June: The BCCDC page dedicated to how COVID-19 spreads is removed.
5. September 1: Under the BC medical services plan, less than 20 people will be allowed in an online group medical visit. An unknown number of bed- & house-bound people will lose telehealth access to the BC-CLMF, a long COVID & ME/CFS clinic. Implementation delayed until January.
6. September 15: Vancouver Sun publishes a sponsored article, suggesting the program responsible for generating SARS-CoV-2 data from wastewater samples would be expanded & describes the then-current state of the program.
7. September 18: The wastewater surveillance program is cut: 8 of 12 wastewater treatment plants will no longer be monitored, and 1 sample will be taken per week instead of 3.
8. October 14: The year's vaccination campaign begins to widespread shortages.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dy4l7kqcar73iaezbjxzwiui/bafkreibyc7hcwrwtwlid453tk3fv523vx3cziv4g5qksvdrks6b3ymxo2a)
