PREDICT Act

The PREDICT Act creates a federal grant program to fund state, tribal, and local health departments in establishing wastewater surveillance systems for detecting infectious diseases like flu or COVID-19. It requires grantees to plan for public data sharing, community needs assessment, and long-term sustainability of their testing efforts. The law authorizes funding for 2024-2028 to improve wastewater testing capacity - especially in rural areas at high outbreak risk - and mandates the CDC to develop standardized testing protocols and a public online database for the collected data. This system aims to enhance early outbreak detection and inform public health responses.