Last Updated on January 5, 2024 by Aditi Gangal
Quick Take
A social media user claims COVID-19 is in the U.S. water supply. We fact-checked and found the claim to be false.
The Claim
In an Instagram video, a social media user claims that there is a much stronger strain of COVID-19 in the U.S. water supply. The video further claims that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released this information.
This video has received 34,471 likes till we last checked.
We have attached a screenshot of this social media post below:
Fact Check
Is COVID-19 present in the U.S. water supply?
No. There is no evidence supporting that COVID-19 is present in the U.S. water supply. Although the claimant in a full video referenced CDC data to suggest COVID-19 detection in wastewater, the CDC has not confirmed it.
Moreover, we realized that the claimant is interchangeably using water supply and wastewater. However, it is important to understand that both have different meanings. The water supply is typically known as drinking or tap water whereas wastewater is called sewage.
The claimant, Steve Ram, is a real estate investor, YouTuber, and entrepreneur. He regularly shares information in the form of breaking news on his Instagram profile, but he does not provide any links to the references he uses for making the videos.
Can there be COVID-19 infection in water?
It seems so. Our research shows that traces of viral RNA (genetic material) from SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in water. However, the likelihood of finding this RNA decreases in the case of drinking water due to multiple processes it undergoes, making it suitable for consumption. This suggests that the viral RNA might have entered the water via sewage or from infected individuals. Nevertheless, detecting RNA fragments does not necessarily indicate the presence of infectious virus particles. RNA can degrade rapidly and does not assure that the virus remains viable.
The CDC has established the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) to track the SARS-CoV-2 virus in U.S. wastewater.
On a separate note, our previous fact-checks also clarified that introducing the vaccine into the water supply is not feasible. We debunked a claim suggesting that the World Economic Forum (WEF) has planned to add vaccines to the water supply. Additionally, we also refuted that New Zealand put COVID-19 vaccines in the water supply.
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