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The majority of the nations across the globe are not performing COVID-19 genomic sequencing owing to its high cost, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) said. Genomic sequencing is one of the best methods to identify new variants of the virus.
During a recent interview, Swaminathan also expressed, Europe is the largest contributor of sequences globally, while the African continents are lagging behind the most.
Though the rate of genomic sequencing has increased significantly since the start of the pandemic, even the current levels are not good enough, she asserted during the interview.
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The equipment are high in cost as they need expensive reagents, which often have to be imported. This fact itself has prevented countries from developing this expertise.
“Governments are unable, or unwilling, to support and fund ongoing genomic surveillance of many pathogens, because it does require financial investment," she said during Devex’s Prescription for Progress event Tuesday.
On the other hand, though the private sector has worked to lower costs, including developing smaller, portable sequencing machines, still questions of making reagents more accessible loom large.
Noting its other advantages, the WHO chief scientist noted that it can also be used to track influenza variants, identifying the source of food contamination outbreaks, and track antimicrobial resistance.
“It's a technology that we want to use more and more in the future. And we need to come together now to see that this can happen, but in a coordinated manner," she said during the interview.
Previously, the WHO chief pointed out that inequitable access to vaccines and tests in many countries combined with high transmission is creating an ideal condition for new variants to emerge. “The longer this inequity continues, the longer the pandemic drags on," he also warned.
“And hence closer collaboration between health and finance sectors is essential," WHO chief added.
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