Wastewater Surveillance Campaign for Boosting Vaccinations

Age: Any Age

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Syracuse University

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to determine if sharing information from wastewater surveillance can encourage more people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Participants will receive updates on virus levels found in local wastewater, which might motivate vaccination. The trial compares two groups: one receiving these updates (wastewater vaccine prompts) and one that does not. Residents of Onondaga and Cayuga counties in New York are automatically included, as the study examines county-wide vaccine uptake. No direct interaction or sign-up is required, as the focus is on the overall effect of the shared information. As an unphased trial, this study explores innovative methods to enhance community health and vaccine uptake.

Do I need to stop my current medications for this trial?

The trial does not involve direct interaction with participants, so you won't need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that this communications campaign is safe?

Research shows that checking wastewater for COVID-19 is a proven method. Studies have found that measuring virus levels in wastewater can predict outbreaks before they appear in medical tests. This method is reliable and avoids direct contact with people, eliminating health risks from the monitoring itself.

In this study, researchers send out messages about COVID-19 levels found in wastewater to encourage vaccination. This approach serves as a communication tool, not a medical treatment. Therefore, it poses no direct safety concerns like those associated with a new drug or vaccine. The goal is to share information to increase vaccination rates. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about this trial because it explores a novel approach to boosting COVID-19 vaccinations using wastewater surveillance. Unlike standard public health campaigns that rely on general reminders, this method provides targeted communication based on local SARS-CoV-2 levels identified in wastewater. By tailoring messages to specific communities experiencing higher virus levels, the trial aims to increase vaccination rates more effectively and efficiently, potentially leading to faster control of outbreaks.

What evidence suggests that this communications campaign using wastewater surveillance data could be effective for boosting COVID-19 vaccinations?

Research has shown that checking wastewater can help track and predict COVID-19 cases in communities. Studies have found that measuring virus levels in wastewater can accurately predict the number of COVID-19 cases in the following week. This method also assesses the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns by observing changes in virus levels after vaccinations. It has effectively demonstrated how vaccines help control the virus's spread in different areas. In this trial, participants in the intervention arm will receive communications about the level of SARS-CoV-2 identified in the wastewater. Sharing this information with the public could encourage more people to get vaccinated. ^{2 4 6 7 8}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for all age groups in Onondaga and Cayuga counties, NY. It's a public health study with no direct interaction with participants; instead, it focuses on county-level vaccine uptake based on wastewater data.

Inclusion Criteria

None - county-level vaccine uptake - no direct interaction with people getting vaccines

You do not come into contact with individuals receiving vaccinations.

You have received the vaccine at a county-level.

Exclusion Criteria

None

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention

Participants receive communications on the level of SARS-CoV-2 as identified in the wastewater

3 months

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for vaccine uptake after the intervention

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Wastewater vaccine prompts

Trial Overview The study tests if sharing local COVID-19 wastewater surveillance data can encourage more people to get vaccinated. It compares the change in vaccination rates before and after this information campaign between different areas.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Intervention arm Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Receives communications on level of SARS-CoV-2 as identified in the wastewater

Group II: Comparison arm Active Control 1 Intervention

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Syracuse University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

54

Recruited

118,000+

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11431242/

Wastewater-Based Surveillance Reveals the Effectiveness of ... This study provides evidence supporting the role of NPIs and vaccination campaigns in controlling SARS-CoV-2 transmission within ALFs.

2. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0043135425007274

SARS-CoV-2 surveillance of wastewater in small rural ... This study shows that beyond evaluating spikes of viral infections, WBE can be used to evaluate the effect of a population's vaccine coverage on SARS-CoV-2 ...

3. academic.oup.com academic.oup.com/jid/article/232/3/e459/8127153

Wastewater Measures of SARS-CoV-2 Accurately Predict ... We found that SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater accurately predicted the subsequent COVID-19 case count the following week in the community (P = .

4. cdc.gov cdc.gov/covid/php/surveillance/index.html

Surveillance and Data Analytics | COVID-19 This page provides an overview of COVID-19 data and trends over time. Other COVID-19 related data visualizations (previously on CDC's COVID Data Tracker) ...

5. data.who.int data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/wastewater

COVID-19 wastewater | WHO COVID-19 dashboard - WHO Data Environmental surveillance (ES) in wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 is an effective approach to monitor community level circulation of the virus.

6. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9783150/

Contextualizing Wastewater-Based surveillance in the COVID ... To answer, we review historical reports of shedding from viral vaccines in use prior to the COVID-19 pandemic including for polio, rotavirus, ...

7. nature.com nature.com/articles/s43856-024-00494-y

Dynamic SARS-CoV-2 surveillance model combining ... It is unclear how large-scale COVID-19 vaccination impacts wastewater concentration or overall disease burden. Here, we developed a mathematical ...

8. fda.gov fda.gov/food/whole-genome-sequencing-wgs-program/wastewater-surveillance-sars-cov-2-variants

Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 Variants Studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) variants of concern from wastewater can be identified 1-2 weeks prior to being detected in clinical samples ...