June 11, 2021 -- New England Biolabs has launched an open access, web-based tool for monitoring the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their potential effect on COVID-19 diagnostic tests.
The Primer Monitor Tool is updated regularly and provides visualization of known variants identified in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. It also offers insight into where commonly used or user-defined primer set assessment may be worthwhile.
The tool is powered by data from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), an international science initiative and primary source that provides open access to genomic data of influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2.