India has carried a heavy burden during the COVID-19 pandemic and has recorded the second largest volume of COVID-19 cases. To address the COVID-19 crisis, India adopted genomics-based surveillance of the virus, which has been deployed across various initiatives including the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).

The genomics-based surveillance is now expanded to cover the whole country and is being used to track the virus. In this webcast, Dr. Sridhar Sivasubbu, CSIR-IGIB will explain the critical role of genomic surveillance in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in India.

He will share valuable insights gained using genomics to manage the pandemic including experiences in validating a high-throughput next-generation sequencing-based SARS-CoV2 assay. This assay demonstrated enhanced sensitivity and increased diagnostic yield compared to quantitative PCR.

Dr. Sivasubbu will also share real-world use cases for SARS-CoV2 genomic surveillance data, ranging from the investigation of a devastating COVID-19 case surge in a university to conducting a state-wide genome surveillance program. This webinar will demonstrate the importance of collaboration between scientists and policymakers in enabling data-driven and evidence-based public health countermeasures.

In this webinar you will learn:

• Why large-scale SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance is important
• How a state-level COVID-19 genomic and epidemiological surveillance program works
• The benefits of effective collaboration between scientists and policymakers on public health crisis management