On Apr. 15, 2021, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced it had established a network of research sites to study the natural history, transmission and pathogenesis of influenza and provide an international research infrastructure to address influenza outbreaks. The program, called the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR), was expected to be supported for seven years by NIAID contracts to five institutions.

Funding for the first year of the contracts will total approximately $24 million. CEIRR will replace the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance program, which was supported by contracts that concluded on Mar. 31, 2021.

The CEIRR sites will conduct studies in the United States and internationally that follow cohorts of people to evaluate influenza-related research areas, such as understanding immune responses to vaccination and infection and identifying which immunological factors can determine influenza disease severity. They also will undertake projects on influenza surveillance, including transmission of influenza viruses from animals to humans (zoonotic transmission) to better understand how influenza viruses evolve, adapt and transmit. The sites will prepare studies that could be rapidly launched as part of emergency research responses to outbreaks of influenza and other emerging viral pathogens. Although CEIRR is primarily focused on influenza, the network also will study SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and other emerging viruses of pandemic potential.