The chief executive of the world's largest genomic sequencing technology company has called for global co-operation to track new virus variants, arguing it is essential to ensure that Covid-19 vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics do not fail in the face of new strains. 

Francis De Souza, who leads the Californian company Illumina, said governments and companies should create a “global surveillance network” to monitor and share information on the virus, just as many have tried to do with threats from computer viruses. 

“Every time there’s a new strain that emerges, the vaccine companies need to get the sequence right away and run the tests to see if the vaccine still works,” he told the Financial Times, adding that drugmakers, such as those making antibody treatments, and manufacturers of Covid-19 PCR tests, need to undergo the same process.