The White House is allocating $1.7 billion from the American Rescue Plan to improve the detection, surveillance and mitigation of coronavirus variants, President Joe Biden said April 16.
The funding includes $1 billion to ramp up the nation's genomic sequencing capacity, which will help CDC and states better identify virus mutations and monitor their circulation. Beginning in early May, states will receive an initial $240 million as part of this investment. The remaining funds will be distributed over the next few years.
The White House is also allocating $400 million to create six Centers of Excellence in Genomic Epidemiology through partnerships with state health departments and academic institutions. The centers will focus on various research in genomic epidemiology, including the creation of new genomic surveillance tools to better track pathogens.
Another $300 million will support the creation of a unified, national system to share and analyze virus sequencing data "in a way that protects privacy but allows more informed decision-making," President Biden said.
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