About U-SAFE

The North Carolina U-SAFE (Use of SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Community Engagement) project is funded through a generous grant from the Duke Endowment. It is supported through the personnel at Atrium Health and the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

We would like to thank all of our community partners, whose insights and feedback are invaluable.

About the Pathogens

  • COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. It can be very contagious and spreads quickly. COVID-19 most often causes respiratory symptoms that can feel much like a cold, the flu, or pneumonia. Find out more on staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Influenza or “the Flu” is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and the lungs. Influenza can cause mild to severe illness, leading to hospitalizations and at times can lead to death. Those who are younger, older, and unvaccinated are at elevated risk. Find out if and when a flu vaccine is right for you.
  • RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) is a highly contagious respiratory virus that typically causes cold-like symptoms. However, RSV can cause serious infections in infants and older adults. Vaccinations are available for those older than 60 years.

About the Data Sources

United States and North Carolina data are provided by the CDC.

Greater Charlotte data is provided by the following Atrium Health hospitals:

  • Anson Hospital
  • Behavioral Health Hospital
  • Cabarrus Hospital
  • Carolinas Medical Center Hospital
  • Carolinas Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Cleveland Hospital
  • Kings Mountain Hospital
  • Lincoln Hospital
  • Mercy Hospital
  • Pineville Hospital
  • Stanly Hospital
  • Union Hospital
  • Union West Hospital
  • University City Hospital

Specifically the data included are:

About SARS-CoV-2 Variant Sequencing

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, will continue to mutate as it circulates in a given population. Variant dynamics can change based on local disease transmission rates and travel patterns.

Currently, the predominant circulating strains of SARS-CoV-2 are sub-lineages of the Omicron variant (parent lineage BA.1), which first emerged in November 2021. In general, the Omicron variant spreads more quickly and causes less severe disease than previously predominating variants, such as the Delta variant, but surges in cases can still result in a significant increase in hospitalizations and deaths. SARS-CoV-2 lineages are given an alphanumeric name according to the Pango lineage system.

To learn more about how lineages are named, visit cov-lineages.org.

See the CDC’s Variant & Genomic Serveillance page to learn more about how CDC is using genomic surveillane to track SARS-CoV-2 Variants.