What proactive measure involving wastewater surveillance transforms reaction from crisis mode?

Treating it as a standard monitoring tool rather than an emergency-only measure

A core lesson learned for future health security involves shifting from reactive measures, typical of the early 2020 response, to anticipatory management. Maintaining robust genomic surveillance, which involves rapidly sequencing circulating viruses to identify dangerous mutations, is essential for managing any recurring respiratory threat. Specifically, when local public health agencies integrate tools like wastewater surveillance into their routine, standard operations—instead of deploying them only during emergency declarations—this creates an early warning system. This proactive approach allows authorities to detect the circulation of threats weeks ahead of corresponding spikes in hospital admissions, fundamentally changing the necessary public health response from crisis management to timely, anticipatory action.