The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) continues to play an important role in the COVID-19 pandemic response since its onset. The systems established for influenza virus detection, risk assessment and sharing of virus materials and data, provide ready platforms to monitor the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in communities at the national, regional and global level.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza sentinel surveillance systems were leveraged to integrate SARS-CoV-2 testing in specimens from influenza surveillance sources. The genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 from representative and systematically sourced sentinel specimens has been expedited to monitor the trends and prevalence (proportions) of existing and emerging (co-) circulating genetic variants (clades) and to improve the geographic and demographic representativeness and timeliness of SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence data in publicly accessible databases to inform public health interventions.

GISRS is an efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable platform for countries in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic while remaining vigilant for a persisting threat of influenza.