Local status

Local Variant Trends

SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics can change based on local disease transmission rates and travel patterns. Viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, will continue to mutate as it circulates in a given population. See below for the latest local variant proportions.

Proportion of local variants. Note that variants making up less than 5% of the weekly totals are combined into the “Other” category.

More about definitions and variant classifications

Definitions

A mutation refers to a single change in the genetic code (genome) of the virus, which happens frequently when a virus replicates. Sometimes these mutations can change the characteristics of the virus. Viruses that harbor one or more mutations are known as variants. A group of closely related variants that share a common ancestor are classified into lineages and sub-lineages (for example, BA.2.75 is a sub-lineage of BA.2). SARS-CoV-2 has many lineages, which all cause the illness COVID-19. A new lineage may be formed through the process of recombination, which is when the genomes of two variants combine during the viral replication process to form a new variant that is different from both parent lineages. This can happen when a person is infected with two different variants of SARS-Co-V2 at the same time.

Variant Classification

The SARS-CoV2 Interagency Group (SIG) established by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) monitors emerging variants and classifies them into one of 4 categories based on their potential to impact the efficacy of COVID vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, disease severity and how quickly the virus can spread from person to person. These classification categories, in order of greatest to least impact, are:

• Variant of High Consequence (VOHC)

• Variant of Concern (VOC)

• Variant of Interest (VOI)

• Variants being monitored (VBM)

Currently, the predominant circulating strains of SARS-CoV-2 are sub-lineages of the Omicron variant (parent lineage BA.1), which first emerged in November 2021. In general, the Omicron variant spreads more quickly and causes less severe disease than previously predominating variants, such as the Delta variant, but surges in cases can still result in a significant increase in hospitalizations and deaths. SARS-CoV-2 lineages are given an alphanumeric name according to the Pango lineage system.

To learn more about how lineages are named, visit the Pango Network website.

For a list of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their classification by SIG, visit the CDC COVID-19 webpage.

See the CDC’s COVID-19 variant tracker at this location.

COVID-19 Wastewater Trends

import { aq, op } from '@uwdata/arquero'

viewof start = Inputs.date({label: "Start date", value: "2023-09-02"})

datww1 = {
  const dataraw =await FileAttachment("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wf-id/ncdhhs-ww/main/output/ncww.csv").csv({ typed: true });
  return dataraw;
}

countiesList = ["Mecklenburg", "Union", "Cabarrus", "Rowan", "Stanley", "Anson", "Lincoln", "Catawba"]



datww1Local = datww1
  .filter( (d) => countiesList.includes(d.county_names))
  .filter((d) => d.date_new >= start )

datww2Local = aq.from(datww1Local)
  .groupby('date_new', 'county_names')
  .rollup({
    total_rna: d => op.sum(d.sars_cov2_normalized) /1e6
    })
    .orderby('date_new')

viewof x = datww2Local

Plot.plot({
width : 800,
marginBottom: 40,
marginTop: 40,
marginLeft: 100,
grid: true,
  facet: {data: datww2Local, y: "county_names", marginRight: 150},
  x: {
    label:  "Week",
    nice: true
    },
  y: {
    grid: true,
    inset: 8,
    label: "Wastewater trends (Millions of RNA Copies per Person)",
  },
  marks: [
    Plot.line(datww2Local, {
    marginLeft: 2000,
    x: "date_new",
    y: "total_rna",
    fy: "county_names",
    stroke: "county_names"
    }),
  ]
})

Reproduction Rate Trends

If the line above 0, that means that the case rate is increasing. In the case that the line is below 0, the case rate is decreasing.