In January 2021, Germany commenced surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants under the Corona Surveillance Act, which ceased in July 2023. The objective was to bolster pandemic control, as specific alterations in amino acids, particularly within the spike protein, were linked to heightened transmission and decreased vaccine effectiveness. Consequently, our team conducted whole genome sequencing using the commercially accessible ARTIC protocol on Illumina’s NextSeq500 platform and MiSeq for …