National Day of Mourning — November 27th 2025
In the words of Jean-Luc Pierite the president of the board for the North American Indian Center of Boston, the Day of Mourning movement exists in order to acknowledge that the methods of colonization within the Thanksgiving myth are “not just something that [have] happened in the 1620s [but] an ongoing process” that indigenous peoples are building solidarity to confront. On this year’s National Day of Mourning, we encourage our readers to uplift the messages of indigenous peoples in the United States, in Gaza and globally and to stand in solidarity against weapons of colonization such as military power, immigration and police officers, and the unchecked spread of mass illness.
Whether it’s a cold or COVID, let the chain of transmission end with you. Stopping the progress of viral spread with masks and testing allows you to take personal responsibility for the healthcare of those around you — regardless of whom the federal government decides to give health services to or not. Even if you choose to only share viruses with close friends or family who are ok with getting them, once they’re spread you cannot control who else they pass them to.
Refusing to participate in viral spread is a decolonial act.
The Weather
Now that the government shutdown has ended, the CDC-based wastewater map has finally been updated. It shows “ very low” levels across 30 states, “low” levels across 17 states, “moderate” levels in Nebraska, South Dakota and Vermont, and “high” levels in Tennessee. Five states are reporting limited coverage — where only some of the state’s wastewater centers are reporting so data is based on less than 5% of the population and may not be accurate for the entire state. There is no data for the US Virgin Islands or North Dakota. Regional levels indicate that all regions have increasing levels except for the South whose levels have plateaued. Midwestern and Northeastern levels have the sharpest increase, both increasing from the “very low” category into the “low” category.
Note: our warm-tones wastewater map is currently under construction, but look for its return in the coming weeks.
The wastewater readings for this report do not yet reflect activity from this past holiday weekend. It will still be a few weeks before we know what effect holiday travel is beginning to have on viral spread. So far in the course of the COVID pandemic we have seen 2 surges in viral activity per year, one in the summer and one in the winter that is typically initiated by the holiday season. As temperatures here in the northern hemisphere begin to drop and people begin to congregate more indoors, the virus is able to spread more easily.
Remember that using multiple layers of protection is the most effective way to avoid the virus. For example, at your office holiday drinks you could combine ventilation + vaccination requirement + required use of N95/KN95/KF94 masks.. It is important to remember that no single layer is 100% effective — though masking with a high filtration mask is the most effective single layer with an effectiveness of over 90%. Vaccination with the most updated booster is important because it helps reduce the chances of death and hospitalization. Despite this, vaccination alone will not help avoid infection altogether. COVID is a vascular disease and even non-severe and asymptomatic cases increase the risk for complications such as Long COVID down the line. Layers of protection are important to protect you and the ones you love from developing chronic illness and disability.
For the full list of layers of protection available to us or for help with creating an accessibility policy for your next function, check out our Safer Gatherings Guide.
Emergency Room Use
Another sign of the serious impact of COVID is the percent of emergency room visits involving a new COVID diagnosis. According to the CDC, the proportion of Emergency Room visits involving a COVID diagnosis is in the “very low” category with 0.34% as of November 25th. A note on the CDC website says to keep in mind that “current estimates may be impacted by holiday reporting effects and should be interpreted with greater uncertainty.”
Variants
As of November 21, 2025, The CDC’s wastewater variant tracking shows that variant XFG, AKA “Stratus,” still makes up a majority of infections, predicted to account for over 69% of all infections. CDC SARS-CoV-2 variant proportions are published every fourweeks on Tuesdays. The variant XFG is decreasing from its peak in dominance earlier this fall where it contributed to 71-74% of all US cases. XFG.14.1 is starting to gain traction and is estimated to make up 10% of all cases by the weeks of 10/26 – 11/22/2025. WHO has noted that current vaccines should offer protection from XFG variants.
Graphic source: CDC Wastewater Variant Tracker
Vaccines
Vaccination with the most updated boosters of COVID, Flu and RSV is proven to be both safe and effective at decreasing one’s risk for death and hospitalization from these diseases. It is important that we all keep up to date with the latest version of each vaccination. The CDC’s free vaccine finder tool vaccines.gov is broken, but many pharmacies and local health departments offer these vaccines. When you arrive at your appointment, ask the pharmacist to check to see if your insurance policy will cover the full cost. If you don’t have insurance or if your insurance does not cover the full cost of the updated COVID, Flu and RSV vaccinations, contact your local health department or federally qualified health center as many have released programs, such as this one in Iowa, to provide these services for free.
Additionally this past week the CDC website was updated with the false statement that “vaccines do not cause autism” is not an evidence-based claim, stating that studies have not been ruled out that infant vaccines cause autism. This is absolutely not the case, in fact the Autism Science Foundation states “no environmental factor has been better studied as a potential cause of autism than vaccines.” There is an entire page on their website that compiles the very long list of scientific articles that prove these claims untrue. False claims that seed doubt in the public mind about vaccine efficiency are reckless and especially shameful to promote because they lead to the direct harm of a population that cannot consent for themselves.
World AIDS Day — December 1st 2025
This Monday, December 1st marks the 37th annual World AIDS Day. Although this is not a day we are proud to still have to celebrate —we would much rather have a cure—HIV/AIDS continues to spread and remains incurable. Recognition days like this remain an important strategy to remind the world that the fight is not over. World AIDS Day is an important day to advertise the past year’s updates to HIV treatment and prevention strategies. It is an important day to remind people living with HIV (PLHIV) and those living with increased risk of contracting the virus, that there is an ongoing history and a movement behind the mitigation of the spread, and that they are not alone.
In Washington, both Republican and Democratic administrations have commemorated this day in the past. But this year, the State Department has released a directive that any employees and grant recipients that actively receive federal government funding “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches or other public-facing messaging.” This is the same administration that has threatened to dissolve PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief), that has dissolved the US humanitarian department USAID, and whose fiscal year 2026 budget proposal illustrated a politically-driven dismantling of HIV prevention, treatment, and research programs.
Of course, this World AIDS Day will continue with this administration’s acknowledgement or not. Organizers Housing Works, AIDS United, NMAC and Health GAP are leading a day of mobilization in Washington DC against the political obstruction of HIV/AIDS funding. In New York City, the NYC AIDS Memorial will host its annual reading of the names of New Yorkers who have lost their lives to AIDS from 12:00pm – 7pm.
Take Action
Oppose the current nominee for surgeon general! Casey Means, who has a medical degree but did not complete medical residency training, is the current nominee for surgeon general. Her nomination hearing was recently delayed. She is a health influencer through social media and has focused only on practices dedicated to so-called “natural” products and “natural immunity” with unsupported evidence to protect against COVID, by promoting health products through her business. We will provide a separate announcement in a few days on specific instructions to oppose her nomination.
Make the classroom safer. Encouraging your student(s) to wear a high-quality mask is a fantastic way to help protect them. You can also add an air purifier to the classroom. Studies have shown that adding an air purifier can greatly reduce infection rates of not just COVID but many other common illnesses in classrooms and daycares. You can meet with teachers or go to your local school board meeting to pitch the idea. If you are worried about the sensitivity around discussing COVID, you can frame this discussion around colds and the flu more generally because the air purifiers work on those as well! Teachers can pitch this idea to their unions as a reasonable workplace safety measure. No one wants their child coming home sick. Teachers don’t enjoy getting sick at work. Air purifiers are a simple intervention that benefits everyone. If costs are an issue, propose a classroom/school fundraiser. We need to be creative in these sensitive and tumultuous times on how we keep ourselves and our communities safer. See our Safer Gatherings toolkit for more tips on making classrooms safer.
Remove RFK Jr. petition: Stand Up For Science has created their own petition calling for the removal of RFK Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. We encourage you to read and sign on.
Read up on disabled activist, writer and community organizer Alice Wong who passed away in November at the age of 51 from an infection at the UC San Francisco hospital. During her life, Wong was a staunch activist against systematic ableism in the US, for the liberation of Palestine, and for the need to enforce universal masking in health care settings. There are lessons for all of us in the rigor of her life-long practice.
With the spread of COVID, Flu, RSV and measles in the US, we need to keep ourselves and our communities safe using KF94/KN95/N95 masking and as many layers of protection as possible. Our Safer Gathering Guide provides recommendations for safer meetings and gatherings. Please continue to share it!
Notes: 1) The numbers in this report were current as of 11/29/2025. 2) Check out the links throughout & see our website for more at https://peoplescdc.org. 3) Subscribe to our newsletter: People’s CDC | Substack.
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The People’s CDC is a coalition of public health practitioners, scientists, healthcare workers, educators, advocates and people from all walks of life working to reduce the harmful impacts of COVID-19.
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