On Mar. 4, 2021, the Washington State Department of Health announced contracts with virology labs at the University of Washington (UW) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) to conduct genome sequencing of COVID-19 specimens. The goal was to test several thousand specimens a month at the Public Health Lab in Shoreline, WA.

Sequencing has been used since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak to analyze the RNA structure of the virus and determine how it is mutating.

Like all viruses, COVID-19 constantly mutates as it spreads. By combining sequencing data with data from case and contact investigations, we can better detect outbreaks, identify and track new and emerging variants, and determine the effectiveness of public health control measures.