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Tag: variants
March 10, 2021
Transmission Infectivity and Antibody Neutralization of an Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variant in California Carrying a L452R Spike Protein Mutation
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Whole genome sequencing of 2,172 remnant nasal/nasopharyngeal swab samples from 44 counties in California identified a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant characterized by three mutations in the spike protein named B.1.427/B.1.429 or 20C/L452R. This variant emerged around May 2020, and by January 29, 2021 represented >50% of sequenced cases, exhibiting an estimated 19-24% increase…
March 9, 2021
Case Fatality Risk of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern B.1.1.7 in England
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Infection with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant was associated with 1.7-fold increased risk of death compared to infection with non-B.1.1.7 strains, according to UK electronic health record data collected from November 2020 to February 2021. Increased risk of death was consistent across subgroups by age, number of comorbidities, ethnicity, and deprivation index quintile….
Infection Sustained by Lineage B.1.1.7 of SARS-CoV-2 Is Characterised by Longer Persistence and Higher Viral RNA Loads in Nasopharyngeal Swabs
Individuals infected with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant may have higher viral loads and longer viral shedding duration, according to a surveillance study in Italy. 313 individuals with sequencing-confirmed B.1.1.7 infection had lower median cycle thresholds of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein (indicating higher viral loads) compared to individuals without B.1.1.7 infection (15.8 vs 16.9). Among…
March 8, 2021
Rapid Increase of SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.1.7 Detected in Sewage Samples from England between October 2020 and January 2021
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Between October 2020 and January 2021, a rapid increase in the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 was detected in sewage samples in England. Viral RNA containing B.1.1.7 mutations was first identified in a sample collected in London on November 10 and detected in 7-9% of all sewage samples in November, increasing to >95% by January…
The Emergence and Ongoing Convergent Evolution of the N501Y Lineages Coincides with a Major Global Shift in the SARS-CoV-2 Selective Landscap
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study examining patterns of SARS-CoV-2 mutations via phylogenetics-based analyses found evidence for changes in the selective pressures of specific SARS-CoV-2 genes (such as N and S) that likely coincided with the emergence of the three main 501Y lineages (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1). The analysis included all SARS-CoV-2 sequences in GISAID assigned to…
March 5, 2021
SARS-CoV-2 Variant with Higher Affinity to ACE2 Shows Reduced Sera Neutralization Susceptibility
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An in vitro study of newly-emerging SARS-CoV-2 mutations in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the viral spike protein found in the P.1 variant (first described in Brazil) demonstrated increased angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) affinity for the mutant RBD and reduced neutralization ability of immune sera induced from prior strains. RBD mutations…
Resistance of SARS-CoV-2 Variants to Neutralization by Monoclonal and Serum-Derived Polyclonal Antibodies
Most convalescent sera from people who had recovered from mild COVID-19 (n=29) and virtually all Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine-induced immune sera (n=24) were shown to have diminished neutralizing activity against engineered SARS-CoV-2 strains including a chimeric strain combining a strain identified in Washington state with a B.1.351 spike gene (Wash SA-B.1.351 strain), or recombinant viruses containing…
March 4, 2021
Sars-Cov-2 Infection in Uk University Students: Lessons from September-December 2020 and Modelling Insights for Future Student Return
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A modeling study suggests that student adherence to testing and isolation is likely to contribute more to reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission than staggering return dates, based on data from the first term of the 2020/2021 academic year in universities in the UK. The authors suggest that in the presence of the more transmissible…
Estimated Transmissibility and Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.1.7 in England
A transmission model fitted to COVID-19 epidemiological data from the UK around the time of the emergence of the B.1.1.7 variant suggest that the variant is 65-82% more transmissible, but has similar risk of hospitalization, critical illness, and death compared to earlier variants. Simulations done while removing a more transmissible variant from the model could…
March 3, 2021
Preliminary Efficacy of the NVX-CoV2373 Covid-19 Vaccine Against the B.1.351 Variant
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Results from a multicenter, randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in South Africa of the NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax) nanoparticle vaccine indicated that among 2,684 participants who were SARS-CoV-2 seronegative at baseline (94% HIV-negative; 6% people living with HIV), vaccine efficacy was 49.4%, with 15 and 29 predominantly mild to moderate COVID-19 cases in vaccine and…
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