Understanding shared variation in SARS-CoV-2 genomes

The project is a collaborative effort of investigators from the University of California, Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) and School of Public Health (SPH); Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC); and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), with administrative and programmatic support provided by Heluna Health. Over the project period, the collaborating investigators will analyze approximately 35,000 genomes of SARS-CoV-2 specimens obtained from KPNC members and sequenced by the CDPH through its COVIDNet activities. By combining results from the genomic analysis of low-frequency alleles with clinical and epidemiologic data available in patient records, including demographic variables, COVID-19 vaccination status (dates of vaccination; number of doses; manufacturer), COVID-19 disease severity, and underlying medical conditions, we assessed which shared genomic variations are associated with a greater risk of symptomatic infection and severe clinical outco...