Dana Crawford, PhD, comments on genomic surveillance in tracking COVID variants

Composite image dna and headline from story

This is our first big emergency where genomics is actually available, and it can be hugely helpful. This is our first big display of what genomics could do.

As the article author notes: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the U.S. has sequenced only 3.8% of its COVID-19 samples, with wide variation between states. Sequencing experts say that maintaining or expanding genomic surveillance will be key to making sure that new variants don’t catch health officials off guard in the future.

Dana Crawford continues: We have the expertise, we have the technology, but we were not doing genomic surveillance to the level that we should have been doing or should be doing now. 

Read the full article here:  https://www.verywellhealth.com/genomic-sequencing-predicts-covid-variant-5224703