AIBS has joined a group of scientific and public health stakeholder organizations in expressing support for the Tracking Pathogens Act (S. 3534).
On February 4, 2022, the organizations sent a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee thanking them for including the Tracking Pathogens Act in the Committee’s PREVENT Pandemics Act discussion draft. The Tracking Pathogens Act, sponsored by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), builds on funding provided for COVID-19 genomic sequencing and surveillance and seeks to strengthen pathogen genomics for the future.
“The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant underscores the need for sustained investments to bolster sequencing capacity to identify, track, and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 strains,” the groups argued. “Significantly boosting U.S. genetic surveillance and viral sequencing is key to moving beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and effectively responding to future challenges not only associated with novel and evolving infectious diseases, but also seasonal threats, antimicrobial resistance and foodborne pathogens.”
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