FLORIDA, USA — Florida is playing a big role in what's next for the pandemic.
Researchers at UF Health are joining a global effort led by the Rockefeller Foundation to track COVID-19 into the future. They're working to create a network of healthcare facilities, labs, and K-12 schools so they can be ready for any public health crisis.
"It seems that these large outbreaks and epidemics are occurring closer and closer together," said Taj Azarian, a researcher at the University of Central Florida partnering with UF Health researchers to create the network.
A big piece now in tracking and stopping COVID-19 variants is genomic surveillance, which looks at the way a virus is made. Experts say it's key to understanding how its variants spread and can be stopped.
The University of Florida has sequenced the genomes of more than 3,000 strains of COVID-19.
"What we're investing now in this pandemic preparedness will pay dividends later on when it comes time to respond to our next public health emergency," Azarian said.
The network Azarian is part of aims to strengthen capabilities for this around the world.