People’s CDC COVID-19 Weather Report

The Weather

Much has happened since our last report. We list a few of the concerning things that have occurred recently and also offer this Explainer to Recent Public Health Policy – How are Some Decisions Made and Who are the Decision Makers?

• Vinay Prasad is now the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) within the Food and Drug Administration. The head of CBER influences which vaccines we get and who gets them.
• After delays, the FDA approved NUVAXOVID (Novavax) last week but only for those between 12 and 64 years with a high-risk condition for severe COVID outcomes and for those at least 65 years. These restrictions do not bode well for universal access to the mRNA COVID vaccines this fall. The FDA is also requiring Novavax to complete additional studies after approval.
• The recent decision to restrict who is eligible for the approved Novavax vaccine   The US is still seeing an unacceptable number of vaccine-preventable hospitalizations from COVID. Sadly this includes infants not eligible for vaccines and whose mothers were unvaccinated and data from the World Health Organization shows that the US is still seeing an unacceptable number of preventable deaths due to COVID.
• Casey Means was chosen to be the US Surgeon General. The Senate will need to confirm Means for the position. “Surgeon” simply means the person has administrative responsibilities – the US Surgeon General doesn’t have to be a licensed doctor (Casey Means is not). But, as Surgeon General, Means would be advising us about public health issues. She has most recently been a wellness entrepreneur, co-founding a company valued at $300 million.
• The People’s CDC and others made comments for this week’s (May 22) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) resulting in over 8,000 comments with at least 2,000 of them from our readers! They are meeting to decide on which COVID vaccine formula will be available. Check here for more information on what will be presented and how to watch their meeting. You can still submit a comment by May 23, 2025 to support universal access for FDA’s final decision.  
• The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) met on May 14 with Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) about the Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed budget for 2026. You can watch the hearing as well as read more at KFF’s recap including these four takeaways. 
• The Senate Energy and Commerce Committee and the Supreme Court met last week. Both hearings were about how safety nets, access to healthcare and health insurance could be in jeopardy for millions of people. The Senate hearing addressed Trump’s budget cuts and new requirements for Medicaid. The Supreme Court met to discuss Trump’s new order about birthright citizenship (through which people born here have citizenship). There were no final decisions made, but here is a summary. A new study found there were more deaths among low-income people when they stopped getting help from Medicaid to help to pay for their Medicare drug program.   
• The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) was shut down. Here is a joint statement from several important national health organizations.
• Some NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) staff have their roles restored and were able to return to work after pressure and lawsuits but RFK’s staffing cuts can still impact workers’ safety. National Nurses United (and others) responded to the staffing cuts with a lawsuit, letter campaign, and another push against threats to NIOSH certification of masks like N95s. There is an effort underway to create a California certification program for masks. 
• People’s CDC issued a press release with reasons why restoring HICPAC and NIOSH staff is so important for patient and healthcare worker safety.

The most recent CDC national wastewater map, updated on May 15, 2025, shows data from May 4 to May 10 of this year. Using the People’s CDC’s warm-toned version of the map, we see that three states, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and the territory of Guam (with limited data) have high levels of COVID in wastewater. Hawaii and Nevada show moderate levels. This update had four states with limited data, meaning that data from those states is based on not enough data, in this case, less than 5% of the population. There is no data for North Dakota and the US Virgin Islands. The CDC says that national levels are “low,” with the West having the highest levels. However, you can check your state here to see which areas in your state have high levels.

Graphic source: CDC

Wastewater trends show that the US is seeing no changes in the amount of COVID in wastewater levels across the country. All regions in the US are seeing stable levels. However, we expect levels to potentially rise again as we enter the summer season.

Note, this modeling uses data from emergency department visits to estimate COVID transmission’s Rt , Rt  is an estimate of the average number of new infections caused by each infectious person. An Rt  greater than 1.0 indicates that infections are growing, while an Rt less than 1.0 indicates that they’re declining. 

Wastewater COVID National and Regional Trends

Graphic source: CDC

As always, remember that the CDC levels of “Very High,” “High,” “Moderate,” “Low,” and “Very Low” do not directly relate to community transmission. Wastewater data are best used to show whether COVID levels are going up or down in your area, and how they compare to other times during the pandemic. 

There will be a hearing this week about California’s Wastewater Surveillance legislation. Other states could use this as a model to protect this important monitoring system. If county-level wastewater data is not available in your area, call your governor, state senators, and assembly to ask for it.

Wins

There are many actions and lawsuits in or heading to the courts to protect public health. 

• Fifteen states won a suit against Trump for taking back COVID funds meant for students.
• Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit against RFK for illegally firing HHS staff and harming public health activities without the approval of Congress. 
• There are lawsuits against Trump’s executive orders, including some that harm workers, immigrants, and human rights.
• Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against  RFK’s  restrictions on the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, 
• The Governor of Illinois protected patients’ rights with an executive order against RFK’s “autism registry,” previously intended for tracking patients but recently re-stated to be for research purposes.  

Vaccines

People’s CDC supports the need for continuing universal, meaning easy and free, access to COVID vaccines. This week the advisory committee (VRBAC) will meet and decide on which formula to use for the upcoming COVID vaccines.

This June, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet to vote on who should be able to get the COVID vaccines and how often. Their meeting is very important for who gets COVID vaccines and how many boosters will be included  for fall 2025 – 2026. After, ACIP makes their recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control, will decide on and release the final vaccine schedules.

See our Explainer to Recent Public Health Policy – How are Some Decisions Made and Who are the Decision Makers?

Long COVID 

14 million people were included in a new review (a meta-analysis) of Long Covid. The authors reviewed studies of people with and without COVID to compare their symptoms. Over twice as many people with COVID had poor concentration and memory loss, or muscle weakness or muscle pain. Long COVID (LC), as we know, has a significant public health impact. It is important to seek care and find a healthcare provider who is both competent and effective. This list has some providers listed by state. You can click on your state on this map from Solve Long Covid Initiative to see costs for care and lost earnings from disabling LC. In January, RFK promised that LC data and research would continue, but the CDC’s Office of Long COVID Research and Practices was shut down in March. With the help of advocates, an important NIH research study, Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery, has regained some funding.

Take Action

We must speak out against attacks on public health. Silence achieves nothing, while advocacy can work. We’ve seen some long COVID funds restored, some staff allowed to return to work, total mask bans fail, and many more examples from determined advocates.

• Speak out with op eds and letters to the editor. This hour-long training from the new organization, Defend Public Health can help get you started. 
• Speak out against Medicaid cuts with this letter from Disability Rights California. They are hosting a “townhall” about Medicaid with time for questions and answers. Use this toolkit from Advocates for Community Health to reach your representatives about the importance of saving Medicaid.
• Speak out against the firing of federal workers with this Public Comment Toolkit.
• If you haven’t already, you can watch last week’s Senate hearing on the proposed 2026 budget. Then go to the American Public Health Association’s letter to demand that public health survives the proposed budget cuts.
• If a mask ban is coming your way, use this #StopMaskBans resource from MaskTogetherAmerica.

Other Viruses and Health Risks

Measles 

Measles in the US this year reached 1,024 confirmed cases as of May 16, 2025. Week to week numbers of people with measles seem to be slowing as reflected in the downward slope on the  graph “Weekly measles cases by rash onset date”. But a cough or sneeze from one person with measles can infect 90% of nearby unvaccinated people. This last week there have been people infected with measles at Newark Airport,  Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and people with measles have now been reported from 31 states or jurisdictions. CDC’s Project Firstline has a new measles resource to help control measles infections and resources for various communities on their website. Be certain you have had protective vaccination especially before summer travel. 

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Notes: 1) The numbers in this report were current as of 5/16/2025. 2) Check out the links throughout & see our website for more at https://peoplescdc.org. 3) Subscribe to our newsletter: People’s CDC | Substack.