ASM Commends Congressional Proposal of $1.75 Billion for SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing
°®¶¹´«Ã½ (ASM) strongly supports the inclusion of $1.75 billion for CDC’s Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD) program as part of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s COVID-19 relief budget reconciliation package. AMD is critical for genomic surveillance and sequencing of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. ASM thanks Chairman Frank Pallone and members of the Committee for addressing this urgent need as well as providing critical resources and support for COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution.
“Funding for CDC’s AMD program is key to ensuring that the U.S. is a leader in sequencing SARS-CoV-2 variants and tackling the pandemic,” said ASM CEO Stefano Bertuzzi. “As new SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge, we need this sequencing capacity to identify, track and mitigate the impact of these new strains.”
ASM is a leading advocate for greater investment in pathogen genomics and advanced molecular detection (AMD), and we commend the leadership of Representatives Ami Bera and Scott Peters, who introduced H.R. 791, the . We are pleased that the provisions of H.R. 791 are reflected in the Committee’s reconciliation package.
AMD technology has and will continue to play a pivotal role in identifying and understanding new genetic strains of SARS-CoV-2 so that we can respond most effectively. Amidst the growing COVID-19 public health crisis, the AMD program established the SPHERES Consortium to bring the public and private sectors together to enable SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, sequencing, tracking and tracing. The work of this program also informs vaccine development and will help researchers monitor genetic changes in SARS-CoV-2 going forward as the population is immunized.
This legislation represents a real investment that will not only help us continue to address the COVID-19 pandemic, but also foster important collaborations among the public health, academic research and private sector scientific communities to meet the moment. ASM looks forward to serving as a bridge between public health labs and private sector partnerships in this “all-hands-on-deck” approach to genomic sequencing.
