The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the value of genomic data for population health efforts. However, the US lags behind other nations in sequencing genetic data. David Relman, MD—professor of microbiology at Stanford University and member of the standing committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Threats at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine—explains the benefits of genomic sequencing and explores ways that the US can catch up in this field.