Sequencing SARS-CoV-2 genomes has helped researchers to track how the virus is evolving, but many countries aren’t sharing all their data.
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Openly sharing genome-sequencing data from SARS-CoV-2 samples has allowed researchers to track how the virus is evolving and has become a hallmark of the pandemic. But researchers are concerned that data gaps could make it harder to spot the next COVID-19 variant of concern, and could frustrate efforts to respond to it quickly.
But a chunk of unshared sequences are probably being held back for political reasons, including the repercussions of being the first country to report a new variant of concern. “Most countries that share those data usually are made to suffer for it,” says Nnaemeka Ndodo, a molecular bioengineer at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in Abuja.
The researchers found that 87 countries were routinely sequencing samples, but 31 were not, and the team couldn’t find information about the genomic surveillance strategies for another 76. Globally, no more than 4.5% of confirmed COVID-19 cases were sequenced every week from September 2020 onwards, with large discrepancies across regions, from a total of 3.4% genomes sequenced in Europe during the study period to 0.1% in the eastern Mediterranean.
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