Will COVID-19 mark the highwater point for sewage surveillance?

Today marks the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency in the U.S. That means the end of vaccine mandates for federal employees, free COVID-19 tests, and up to 15 million may lose Medicaid access (here’s a long list of separate COVID-19 policy changes). It might also mean an impending crisis at the border, and less funding for new public health initiatives like wastewater surveillance.

This week, we take a look at whether our public health weather alert system, built on wastewater surveillance, could disappear even though it proved to be an excellent tool during the pandemic. In fact, it could be useful for detecting health threats beyond COVID-19—from foodborne pathogens to fungal infections. The question now is: does wastewater surveillance have a post-pandemic future?

• Will COVID-19 mark the highwater point for sewage surveillance? | Pingping Yin

Other viewpoints on the pandemic

• Every emergency needs to end, even COVID-19 | The Atlantic
• Why the U.S. may be days away from a border crisis | Time
• Ending the COVID public health emergency isn’t all good news | The New Yorker

Other HPH Coverage

Taking care of our teeth is just as important as the rest of our health, says Kiltesh Patel, CEO of tab32, a dental software company. So why is the dental industry so siloed from the rest of health care? In fact, he argues doctors and dentists are missing opportunities to work together to prevent and treat ailments like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and HIV. Better data may be the key.

• Here’s how to put teeth in the U.S.’s response to diabetes | Kiltesh Patel

Health policy scholar Tatiane Santos of Tulane University argues nonprofit hospitals could step into the funding vacuum left by the expiration of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency. Nonprofit hospitals are holding onto as much as $14.2 billion in tax savings that could go towards paying for COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines for the uninsured and underinsured, and much, much more.

• Nonprofit hospitals are sitting on $14 billion. Let’s spend it on public health. | Tatiane Santos

Event: Fireside chat with President Carlos Alvarado Quesada

Tune in Monday, May 15 at 1 pm ET to hear how Costa Rica became a global leader on climate change and health. My conversation with Carlos Alvarado Quesada, president of Costa Rica during the bulk of the pandemic, will also reveal what it was like to govern during the first weeks of the pandemic, why Costa Rica’s life expectancy keeps outpacing the regional average, and more.

Register?for free to receive a link to watch.

What we’re reading this week

• Fake sign language is spreading on TikTok. Deaf people are worried. | The Washington Post
• Doctors have performed brain surgery on a fetus in one of the first operations of its kind | MIT Technology Review
• After Neely homicide, mental health workers explain what to do if someone is in crisis on the subway | Gothamist
• Obesity experts debate risks of new weight loss drugs | Stat
• Corporate giants buy up primary care practices at rapid pace | The New York Times

See you next week! Boston-area readers, we mean this literally: Join us Tuesday, May 16 for pizza and a screening of the powerful documentary There’s Something in the Water. Click for details and registration.

—Christine