Unlocking capacities of genomics for the COVID-19 response and future pandemics

During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomics and bioinformatics have emerged as essential public health tools. The genomic data acquired using these methods have supported the global health response, facilitated the development of testing methods and allowed the timely tracking of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants. Yet the virtually unlimited potential for rapid generation and analysis of genomic data is also coupled with unique technical, scientific and organizational challenges. Here, we discuss the application of genomic and computational methods for efficient data-driven COVID-19 response, the advantages of the democratization of viral sequencing around the world and the challenges associated with viral genome data collection and processing.