Like all viruses, SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — has continued to mutate and evolve, sometimes producing different variants that spread more quickly and are more contagious. Since March 2020, a team of Northwestern Medicine scientists based in the Division of Infectious Diseases and supported by the Emerging and Re-emerging Pathogens Program (EREPP) have been tracking the evolution of SARS- CoV-2, specifically in the city of Chicago. Their work has been pivotal in understanding how the virus spread to Chicago and what new variants have emerged in the city.
