Portland sewage tests show sharp rise in coronavirus

After being at low levels for months, the prevalence of the coronavirus doubled this week at the two wastewater treatment plants in the Portland Water district.

Levels, measured in copies of coronavirus per liter of sewage, were around 1 million at the East End plant on Friday and 1.3 million at the Westbrook plant. That’s well below levels seen in late January and early February, when virus prevalence was around 2 million or more, or at a peak of more than 5 million in late December and early January.

But even compared to a week to 10 days ago, levels have doubled at factories in the Portland Water District. Sewage tests are considered a leading indicator of the presence in communities of the coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Results have been mixed at other treatment plants where sewage testing is underway. Brunswick and Almost Isle saw steep declines this week, while Bangor also fell slightly after seeing its numbers fluctuate dramatically over the past week. Lewiston-Auburn saw a strong increase this week, while York saw a slight increase.

Dr. Yolanda Brooks, assistant professor of biology at St. Petersburg’s Joseph’s College in Standish, who performed the coronavirus testing for Yarmouth’s wastewater program, said increases in Portland have persisted for at least three periods test, which is “a little concerning” even though the levels are still well below those seen in January.

Brooks said it was difficult to know what was driving these increases because there could be reasons other than more people contracting the virus. For example, Portland is a hub for workers, and with more employees returning to the office, that could impact the number of people using Portland’s sanitation system.

It is also the start of the tourist season and more visitors could use the system, she said. The recent K-12 spring break may also have affected the numbers.

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Brooks said another dynamic is that in smaller systems the numbers bounce around more. Even though Portland is the largest city in Maine, the sanitation system is still small compared to those in major urban centers such as Boston and New York.

“There’s more variability in smaller systems,” Brooks said. “Fewer people infecting and shedding the virus may affect metrics in small systems.”

Despite the increases in Portland, Brooks said with high vaccination rates and Maine recently going through the omicron wave, she doesn’t anticipate a return to the state’s winter virus surge.

Maine reported 470 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with one additional death. Since the start of the pandemic, Maine has recorded 244,062 cases of COVID-19 and 2,283 deaths.

Hospitalizations rose to 143 on Friday from 132 on Thursday. There were 34 patients in intensive care on Friday and five on ventilators.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Maine had remained nearly flat since mid-March, hovering between 90 and 100 patients before rising sharply this week. The current total is still down from this year’s peak of 436 hospitalizations on January 1. 13.

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Unvaccinated people made up about two-thirds of COVID-19 patients treated in Maine hospitals from the time vaccines became readily available through April 15, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.

MODERNA REQUESTS AUTHORIZATION OF A VACCINE

Meanwhile, Moderna announced Thursday that it is seeking emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 5 years. No COVID-19 vaccines for toddlers and infants have been approved although adults have access to vaccines for about a year. A vaccine developed by Pfizer was approved for children ages 5 to 11 in the fall.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it plans to convene a panel of vaccine experts in June to review applications from Moderna and Pfizer for childhood vaccines, the Associated Press reported. The dates are not final, and the FDA said it will provide additional details as each company completes its application.

The Moderna vaccine was effective in a two-dose schedule given 28 days apart, according to a Moderna study of 6,700 children.

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“We are proud to share that we have submitted an authorization request for our COVID-19 vaccine for young children,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement. “We believe that (the vaccine) will be able to safely protect these children against SARS-CoV-2, which is so important in our continued fight against COVID-19, and will be particularly welcomed by parents and caregivers. caregivers.”

The effectiveness of the vaccine is 51% for children aged 6 months to under 2 years and 37% for children 2 to 6 years old, according to a company statement.

“That means you’re going to cut your risk of getting the disease by about half,” Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Paul Burton told NPR in an interview. “It’s very important for these children.”