How do we track COVID-19 in 2026?

As one of the last newsrooms still reporting on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we get a lot of questions about how we track the SARS-CoV-2 virus, from whether or not to trust CDC data to how wastewater data monitoring works.To answer those questions and assist in finding and interpreting data on COVID-19 and other pathogens, The Sick Times hosted a webinar on April 28, 2026. This episode is an abridged version of that webinar.Still Here co-hosts Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets were joined by Caitlin Rivers, an infectious disease epidemiologist who directs the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation at Johns Hopkins and runs the popular newsletter Force of Infection; and Tea Burns, a disabled trans nurse and first aid instructor with Action Readiness Collective of NYC (ARC-NYC). Subscribe to Still Here wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review telling us what you think of this episode.Links Mentioned:Full webinar video on YoutubeCOVID-19 spreads year round. Here's how to track it.