  More than any other infectious disease epidemic, the COVID-19 pandemic has
been characterized by the generation of large volumes of viral genomic data at
an incredible pace due to recent advances in high-throughput sequencing
technologies, the rapid global spread of SARS-CoV-2, and its persistent threat
to public health. However, distinguishing the most epidemiologically relevant
information encoded in these vast amounts of data requires substantial effort
across the research and public health communities. Studies of SARS-CoV-2
genomes have been critical in tracking the spread of variants and understanding
its epidemic dynamics, and may prove crucial for controlling future epidemics
and alleviating significant public health burdens. Together, genomic data and
bioinformatics methods enable broad-scale investigations of the spread of
SARS-CoV-2 at the local, national, and global scales and allow researchers the
ability to efficiently track the emergence of novel variants, reconstruct
epidemic dynamics, and provide important insights into drug and vaccine
development and disease control. Here, we discuss the tremendous opportunities
that genomics offers to unlock the effective use of SARS-CoV-2 genomic data for
efficient public health surveillance and guiding timely responses to COVID-19.
