Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 27, 2021

Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Infection During the Initial Pandemic Wave and Association With Disease Severity

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  • The SARS-CoV-2 D614G variant was associated with increased survival in hospitalized patients (86% vs 59% for other identified variants) according to analysis from a repeated cross-sectional study (n=302) of SARS-CoV-2 isolates from the Cleveland Clinic during the first wave of infection (March to April 2020). While 6 different clades were initially identified in the beginning of the study, clade diversity rapidly decreased with D614G isolates comprising 64% of samples (21 of 33) in week 1 to 93% of samples (28 of 30) by week 6. The authors suggest these findings may help explain decreasing mortality among those hospitalized throughout the pandemic.

Esper et al. (Apr 26, 2021). Genomic Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 Infection During the Initial Pandemic Wave and Association With Disease Severity. JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.7746