Only six U.S. states have genetically sequenced more than 1% of all coronavirus cases during the pandemic, compared to a national average of just over 0.3%, according to data released this week by Control Centers. and U.S. Disease Prevention.
These states include Hawaii (2.8%), Washington (2.1%), Maine (1.7%), Wyoming (1.6%), Utah (1.5%) and Oregon (1.2%). .
Meanwhile, nearly half of the states have sequenced less than one-tenth of one percent of their confirmed cases: 24 in total.
These are the states that preformed the highest number of genetic sequences:
- Texas: More than 15,000
- California: More than 11,000
- New York: About 7,600
Fourteen states report less than 100 sequences each.
These numbers come from sequences in a publicly accessible database from January 2020 to January 2021 and may not represent the full number of samples analyzed.
U.S. laboratories have submitted 92,000 coronavirus sequences (about 0.3% of all cases) to a genomics database known as GISAID. In comparison, the UK has filed close to 197,000, just over 5% of all cases.
The United States has stepped up its sequencing efforts and is on track to process at least 7,000 samples a week, according to CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Experts have previously told CNN that the US should target sequencing in between 5% and 10% of cases, in line with sequencing efforts in the UK. Given the cases of the last seven days, this would amount to approximately 50,000 to 100,000 sequences in a week.