The COVID-19 pandemic and earlier epidemics, such as those due to Zika and Ebola, have underscored the need for global access to samples from patients if international public-health emergencies are to be controlled. In our view, an expanded agreement, similar to the 2011 Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, could help to address the weaknesses in test development and assay validation exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It would also promote equal availability of good-quality diagnostic tests.
Such tests depend on careful curation of samples with their associated clinical and diagnostic data. However, collecting and sharing samples internationally can be politically, logistically and ethically fraught. Although regional biobanks exist (R. W. Peeling et al. Lancet 20, e268–e273; 2020), a long-term global resource is needed to ensure sustainability.
Such a resource must address the challenges of specimen acquisition, storage, tracking and dissemination. A solid, comprehensive agreement on sample sharing for infectious diseases with epidemic potential can then be drawn up, leaving the world better prepared for the next large outbreak.
