[Codes]

Definitely a lot less public discussion on the ongoing evolution of the virus, but everything is still being closely monitored by the various public health apparati. That said, there is a more recent acceleration in the ramping down of efforts, and this will most definitely impact ongoing genomic surveillance efforts.

We're still seeing the emergence of variants that are competitive (i.e., XBB.1.16* and XBB.1.9*, possibly XBB.2.3*) in terms of transmisibility and immune escape. This is evidenced by the fact we are seeing an increase relative to the currently dominant XBB.1.5* lineage. But the disease is mild relative to previous variants like Delta.

Testing is down significantly, so case counts are not an overly accurate metric. We're still sitting at around a 10% test positivity rate, and detecting and sequencing the virus in waste water.