def METHOD_NAME(cur, epiweek, state):
    sql = """
    SELECT
      sum(m.`total`) `total`
    FROM
      `cdc_meta` m
    WHERE
      m.`epiweek` = %s AND m.`state` = %s
    """
    total = None
    cur.execute(sql, (epiweek, state))
    for (total,) in cur:
        pass
    if total is None:
        raise Exception(f"missing data for {int(epiweek)}-{state}")
    return total