On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5
We strive to credit labs collecting specimens and generating sequence data prominently. But credit for data contributions is not zero sum – surfacing of data in popular tools generates visibility and does not infringe on future publications by the data generators. 2/5
Tools like Nextstrain, CoV-Spectrum, UShER and
http://outbreak.info facilitate a global community of experts to keep close tabs on the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2. Support for
http://outbreak.info ended in Jan 2025 and CoV-Spectrum hasn't been updated for >3 weeks. 3/5
outbreak.info SARS-CoV-2 data explorer
Closing these public analyses puts the world more in the dark and concretely harms surveillance as it becomes more difficult for variant spotters to contribute to global situational awareness. 4/5
Nextstrain
