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SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant
Variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

The Beta variant (B.1.351) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. One of several SARS-CoV-2 variants initially believed to be of particular importance, it was first detected in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan area of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in October 2020, which was reported by the country's health department on 18 December 2020. Phylogeographic analysis suggests this variant emerged in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in July or August 2020.

The World Health Organization labelled the variant as Beta variant, not to replace the scientific name but as a name for the public to commonly refer to. The WHO considers it to be a variant of concern no longer in circulation.

Names

The variant is also known as the South African variant.

Mutations

Mutational profile of Beta variant(change of amino acid only)
GeneNucleotideAmino acid
ORF1abC1059TT265I
G5230TK1655N
C8660TH2799Y
C8964TS2900L
A10323GK3353R
G13843TD4527Y
C14408T1P4715L
C17999TT5912I
SpikeC21614TL18F
A21801CD80A
A22206GD215G
G22299TR246I
G22813TK417N
G23012AE484K
A23063TN501Y
A23403G1D614G
G23664TA701V
ORF3aG25563TQ57H
C25904TS171L
EC26456TP71L
NC28887TT205I

Footnote: 1Presented in parent lineage B.1.

Source: Tegally et al. (2020), supplementary Fig S8

There are three mutations of particular interest in the spike region of the lineage B.1.351 genome:13

  • K417N
  • E484K
  • N501Y

and a further five spike mutations which have so far generated less concern:14

  • L18F
  • D80A
  • D215G
  • R246I
  • A701V

Away from the spike region, it also carries: K1655N, SGF 3675-3677 deletion, P71L, and T205I.15

Scientists noted that the variant is able to attach more easily to human cells because of three mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the spike glycoprotein of the virus: N501Y1617 (a change from asparagine (N) to tyrosine (Y)18 in amino-acid position 501), K417N, and E484K.1920 Two of these mutations, E484K and N501Y, are within the receptor-binding motif (RBM) of the receptor-binding domain (RBD).2122

The N501Y mutation has also been detected in the United Kingdom.2324 Two mutations found in the Beta variant, E484K and K417N, are not found in Alpha variant. Also, Beta does not have the 69-70del mutation found in the other variant.2526

Vaccine efficacy

See also: Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine § Effectiveness, Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine § Effectiveness, Janssen COVID-19 vaccine § Efficacy, Moderna COVID-19 vaccine § Effectiveness, Novavax COVID-19 vaccine § Efficacy, Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine § Variants, Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine § Variants, CoronaVac § Variants, Covaxin § Variants, ZF2001 § Efficacy, and Abdala (vaccine) § Efficacy

On 4 January 2021, UK newspaper The Telegraph reported that Oxford immunologist Sir John Bell believed there was "a big question mark" over the new South African variant's potential resistance to COVID-19 vaccines, raising fears that vaccines might not work as effectively on that variant strain.27 The same day Shabir Madhi, professor of vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, commented to CBS News that "it's not a given" that the new Beta variant (501.V2 variant) would be able to evade the vaccines, but that it should be considered that they "might not have the full efficacy".28 The additional mutations to the spike protein in Beta were raised as a concerning factor by Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, in that they "may make the virus less susceptible to the immune response triggered by the vaccines".29 Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, also noted that the variant's multiple spike mutations "could lead to some escape from immune protection".30

The E484K amino acid change, a receptor-binding-domain (RBD) mutation, was reported to be "associated with escape from neutralising antibodies" which could adversely affect the efficacy of spike protein-dependent COVID vaccines.3132 The E484K spike mutation was linked to a case of reinfection with the Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil, believed by researchers to be the first such case of reinfection involving this mutation.33 The possibility of an alteration in antigenicity was referred to as an "escape mutation" from a monoclonal antibody with the capability of neutralizing the spike protein variants of SARS-CoV-2.3435 This suggests that existing vaccines can and should be updated to counter the new strains without recourse to phased trials.

Janssen

In January, Johnson & Johnson, which held trials for its Janssen (Ad26.COV2.S) vaccine in South Africa, reported the level of protection against moderate to severe COVID-19 infection was 72% in the United States, but 64% in South Africa.3637

Pfizer–BioNTech

On 17 February 2021, Pfizer announced that neutralisation activity was reduced by two thirds for the Beta variant, whilst refraining from making claims about the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing illness as a result of this variant.38

On 16 March 2021, The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2) for section 21 Emergency Use Authorisation.39

On 1 April 2021, an update on a South African vaccine trial stated that the vaccine was 100% effective so far (i.e., vaccinated participants saw no cases), with six of nine infections in the placebo control group being the Beta variant (lineage B.1.351).40 However, nine days later, an Israeli study found that the variant was present even in people who had received both shots of the vaccine, its prevalence a disproportionate, eight-fold increase amongst vaccinated individuals in comparison to wild strains.41

On 5 May 2021, a letter summarizing results from the Qatar National Study Group for COVID-19 Vaccination showed 75% effectiveness against infection, with zero cases of severe disease.42

Oxford–AstraZeneca

On 6 February 2021, The Financial Times reported that provisional trial data from a study undertaken by South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand in conjunction with Oxford University demonstrated reduced efficacy of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against the Beta variant. The study found that in a sample size of 2,000 the AZD1222 vaccine afforded only "minimal protection" in all but the most severe cases of COVID-19.43

On 7 February 2021, the South African government suspended the planned deployment of around 1 million doses of the vaccine whilst they examined the data and awaited advice on how to proceed.44 The South African government subsequently cancelled the use of the vaccine, selling its supply to other African countries, and switched its vaccination program to use the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.4546

In July 2021, following increased incidence of Beta in France, the United Kingdom - a major user of the AstraZeneca vaccine - placed additional restrictions on people travelling to the UK from France. However, the incidence in France is in its Indian Ocean territory of La Réunion,47 as pointed out by French politician and doctor Veronique Trillet-Lenoir.48

Sinopharm BIBP

Other African countries have begun the roll out the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine, with Morocco, Egypt, The Seychelles and Zimbabwe starting the mass rollout.49 So far, the vaccine has proven resistant to the Beta variant, as demonstrated in Zimbabwe.50 On 2 February 2021, a preprint paper announced that neutralisation activity was reduced by 1.6 fold for the Beta variant.51

Moderna

In February, Moderna reported that the current vaccine (mRNA-1273) produced only one sixth of the antibodies in response to the South African variant compared with the original virus. They have even launched a trial of a new vaccine to tackle the Beta variant.52

Sputnik V

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has confirmed that it has received documentation for the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Russia.53

Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) is one of three Covid vaccines worldwide with an efficacy higher than 90% in symptomatic cases. It was found to be slightly less effective however it worked better than its rivals.[1] A three fold reduction in VNA was found against the beta variant. [2] [3] A small study of 12 samples published in the nature communications journal showed that the neutralising antibody response was about 6.1 times less against the beta variant.54

CoronaVac

CoronaVac is yet to be approved for use by the South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA).55 So far, Sinovac has offered to supply South Africa with 5 million doses of the vaccine.56

Covaxin

Covaxin has been found to be effective against the beta variant although with a three fold reduction in neutralization.

CoviVac

The CoviVac vaccine Information has not been delivered to the South African government yet.57

EpiVacCorona

The EpiVacCorona vaccine Information has not been delivered to the South African government yet.58

ZF2001

The ZF2001 vaccine Information is in the process of being delivered to the South African government.59

Novavax

A study on the NVX-CoV2373 Novavax vaccine showed 60% efficacy (for HIV-negative participants) in South Africa, compared to 90% efficacy in Britain.60

ImmunityBio

The BioVac Institute, a state-backed South African vaccine company, plans to use a deal it won to manufacture coronavirus vaccines. The contract with American based ImmunityBio Inc is currently conducting phase 1 vaccine trials with their hAd5 vaccine in the United States and South Africa.61

ImmunityBio and BioVac plan to distribute the vaccines throughout South Africa and Africa.6263

Epidemiology

Researchers and officials reported that the prevalence of the variant was higher among young people with no underlying health conditions, and more frequently causes serious illness in such cases than other variants.6465 The South African health department also indicated that the variant may be driving the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, as the variant spreads faster than other earlier variants of the virus.6667

Statistics

Cases by country
CountryConfirmed cases (GISAID)68as of 16 January 2024Collection date
 Angola40122 April 2021
 Argentina124 April 2021
 Aruba410 April 2021
 Australia7328 June 2021
 Austria2608 June 2021
 Bahrain19 April 2021
 Bangladesh5616 June 2021
 Belgium1,07514 June 2021
 Bosnia and Herzegovina111 February 2021
 Botswana34227 June 2021
 Brazil65 April 2021
 Brunei120 January 2021
 Bulgaria29 June 2021
 Cambodia131 May 2021
 Cameroon91 March 2021
 Canada88521 June 2021
 Chile422 May 2021
 China1004 June 2021
 Colombia113 April 2021
 Costa Rica124 May 2021
 Cote d'Ivoire16 March 2021
 Croatia41
 Czech Republic7110 June 2021
 Democratic Republic of the Congo3020 April 2021
 Denmark12129 June 2021
 Djibouti229 April 2021
 Equatorial Guinea431 April 2021
 Estonia3723 April 2021
 Eswatini2623 March 2021
 Finland1,12321 May 2021
 France2,14923 June 2021
 French Guiana27 April 2021
 Gabon421 February 2021
 Georgia123 May 2021
 Germany2,23119 June 2021
 Ghana178 April 2021
 Greece1929 April 2021
 Guadeloupe425 May 2021
 Guam328 April 2021
 Guinea Bissau11 February 2021
 India20814 June 2021
 Indonesia102 June 2021
 Iran23 April 2021
 Iraq126 February 2021
 Ireland6919 April 2021
 Israel24028 May 2021
 Italy691 June 2021
 Japan8913 June 2021
 Jordan218 April 2021
 Kenya17831 May 2021
 Kuwait121 June 2021
 Latvia913 May 2021
 Lesotho1418 January 2021
 Lithuania119 April 2021
 Luxembourg74422 May 2021
 Malawi31216 April 2021
 Malaysia16110 June 2021
 Malta31 June 2021
 Martinique228 April 2021
 Mauritius712 March 2021
 Mayotte3231 January 2021
 Mexico2016 May 2021
 Mozambique32822 April 2021
 Namibia9
 Netherlands69327 May 2021
 New Zealand3125 June 2021
 North Macedonia110 March 2021
 Norway36211 June 2021
 Pakistan355 June 2021
 Panama212 January 2021
 Philippines1,2138 April 2021
 Poland457 June 2021
 Portugal992 June 2021
 Qatar65018 May 2021
 Reunion40019 June 2021
 Romania726 May 2021
 Russia2312 June 2021
 Rwanda3915 June 2021
 Saudi Arabia315 April 2021
 Singapore10025 June 2021
 Sint Maarten124 March 2021
 Slovakia3127 May 2021
 Slovenia316 April 2021
 Somalia1
 South Africa6,15421 June 2021
 South Korea1917 April 2021
 South Sudan324 April 2021
 Spain58818 June 2021
 Sri Lanka426 March 2021
 Suriname531 March 2021
 Sweden2,32217 June 2021
  Switzerland22522 June 2021
 Taiwan9526 April 2021
 Thailand4025 May 2021
 Togo25 February 2021
 Tunisia124 April 2021
 Turkey91224 May 2021
 Uganda132 April 2021
 United Arab Emirates627 April 2021
 United Kingdom88524 June 2021
 USA2,99528 June 2021
 Zambia16128 April 2021
 Zimbabwe33126 February 2021
 World (103 countries)Total: 28,380Total as of 21 July 2021

History

A genomics team led by the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal discovered the new variant.69 It was uncovered by whole genome sequencing. Several genomic sequences from this lineage were submitted to the GISAID sequence database.70[better source needed]

On 23 December 2020, UK health minister Matt Hancock announced that two people who had travelled from South Africa to the UK were infected with the Beta variant (501.V2 variant).7172 On 28 December, the variant had been detected in two people in Switzerland73 and in one in Finland.74 On 29 December, the strain had been detected in a visitor from South Africa to Japan,75 and in one overseas traveller to Queensland, Australia.76 On 30 December the variant was detected in Zambia.77 On 31 December, it was also detected in France, in a passenger returning from South Africa.78 On 2 January 2021, the first case of this variant was detected in South Korea.79 Austria reported their first case of this variant, along with four cases of the Alpha variant on 4 January.80 The Republic of Botswana also detected their first case on 4 January.81 The People's Republic of China reported the first case of this variant in southern Guangdong province on 6 January.82

On 8 January 2021, the Republic of Ireland reported the detection of 3 cases, all linked to travel from South Africa.83 On the same day a case of reinfection with the new variant by a woman who had had COVID-19 was reported from Brazil, the first such reinfection reported in the world.84 Canada reported the first case of this variant in Alberta on 9 January,85 and Israel reported four cases, all of which were imported in people travelling from South Africa.86 New Zealand reported the first case of this variant on 10 January.8788 On 12 January, Germany reported the detection of the mutation in six people from three different households.89 The same day, it was reported that the United Kingdom had a total of 29 cases, two of which were previously reported.90 The following day, Belgium reported the first case in a person from West Flanders with no travel history,91 Israel reported four further cases,92 and Taiwan reported the first case in a Swazi man in his 30s who had tested positive for COVID-19 on 1 January.93

On 14 January, Germany detected a further case94 and the following day, Canada reported a second case of the mutation which was detected in the Canadian province of British Columbia.95 A further case was reported in Germany the same day.96 Denmark and Réunion reported their first cases on 16 January as Israel discovered a further four cases.979899 On 17 January, Israel reported another four cases bringing their total number of cases of this variant to 20.100 Two further cases were reported in The Netherlands on 18 January bringing the country's total to three.101 Ghana reported its first case of the variant on 19 January.102 On 23 January, Panama detected its first case of the strain in a person from Zimbabwe, who had travelled from South Africa.103 Also on 23 January, Belgium reported at least 15 cases of the variant in Ostend,104 while 6 cases were confirmed in the Comoros.105 On 26 January, the Republic of Ireland reported the detection of 6 further cases.106 The United States reported its first cases of the variant on 28 January 2021, in the state of South Carolina.107 On 27 January, Israel reported 3 more cases which were the first cases of the variant from samples that were collected in the community randomly, without knowing the source of infection.108 Preliminary data reported by Africa CDC on 29 January indicated that the variant had reached Ghana.109 On 31 January, Israel reported its first case of reinfection with the new variant by a man who returned from Turkey.110

On 1 February 2021, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Health and Social Care reported the random detection of 11 cases of the variant where there was no connection to international travel.111 The same day, the Canadian province of Ontario reported the first case of the variant in the Peel Region, with a similar absence of travel history and no contact with anyone who had recently been abroad.112 On 8 February, the Republic of Ireland reported the detection of 2 further cases.113

On 8 February 2021, Austria detected the greatest outbreak of Beta variant in Europe so far. A total of 293 confirmed cases and 200 suspected cases have been identified through sequencing, most of them will be confirmed in all probability. All of the cases were found in the Tirol region, where nearly 9% of the positive PCR tests were identified as the Beta variant by sequencing.114 The active cases were estimated at around 140. After a week of public discussion and political pressure about a possible quarantine of Tirol, the government of Austria abstained from isolating the areas of concern, instead making a formal plea to reduce movement in and out of the region and go for testing after visiting Tirol.115 Tirolean officials stated their intention to relax the lockdown rules in Tirol in keeping with the rest of Austria.116

On 22 February, the Israeli Health Ministry stated that the variant had been genetically sequenced in just under 1% of 3,000 community samples.117 Later on, Israel reported a total of 444 cases of the variant, making it the highest infection rate in the world outside South Africa.118 On 25 February, the Republic of Ireland reported the detection of 4 further cases.119 By late February, Turkey had 49 cases of the Beta variant.120

On 3 March 2021, the Philippines confirmed its first 6 new cases of the South African variant, with 3 patients from Pasay with no travel history, and 3 with travel histories from Qatar and UAE.121 On 5 March 2021, Romania reported its first two cases of the South African variant, coming from two patients in Bucharest and Pitești.122

On 23 March 2021, Lithuania confirmed its first 2 new cases of the South African strain, 1 in Kaunas county and 1 in Vilnius. There are 10 more suspected cases of it. The infected people said, that they didn't travel anywhere.123 On 26 March there were 3 more cases confirmed, which means that virus is successfully spreading inside.

On 1 April 2021, Malaysia detected its first cases of South African variant. The health ministry reported two cases believed to originate from the Jalan Lima cluster, involving an employee based at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), with other reported cases sparsely detected within Selangor.124 As of 1 April, a total of nine cases involving the variant is reported.125 By 2 May, a total of 48 cases has been detected in least 5 clusters and from contact tracing, of which 20 were found in two clusters in Perak and Kelantan.126

On 12 April 2021 Turkey had 285 cases in 11 provinces.127

Extinction

In March 2022, the World Health Organization listed the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants as previously circulating citing lack of any detected cases in the prior weeks and months.128

See also

  • COVID-19 portal
  • Medicine portal
  • Viruses portal

Notes

References

  1. "GISAID - hCov19 Variants". www.gisaid.org. Retrieved 21 July 2021. https://www.gisaid.org/hcov19-variants/

  2. "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved 1 June 2021. https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants

  3. Other names include:[3][4]– 20H/501Y.V2 (formerly 20C/501Y.V2)– 501Y.V2 variant– South African COVID-19 variant

  4. "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved 17 August 2022. https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants

  5. "Variants of concern". CDGN. Retrieved 17 August 2022. https://www.cdgn.org.au/variants-of-concern

  6. "SA reaches grim milestone of 1 million Covid-19 cases". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 29 December 2020. https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/sa-reaches-grim-milestone-of-1-million-covid-19-cases-a01906de-5442-451c-932f-84d6fc381b84

  7. "Covid: South Africa passes one million infections as cases surge". BBC News. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55462863

  8. "South Africa announces a new coronavirus variant". The New York Times. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020. N501Y...has been found in other countries, including the United Kingdom https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/world/south-africa-announces-a-new-coronavirus-variant.html

  9. Houriiyah Tegally; et al. (22 December 2020). "Emergence and rapid spread of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage with multiple spike mutations in South Africa". medrxiv. doi:10.1101/2020.12.21.20248640. Retrieved 10 March 2021. Spatiotemporal phylogeographic analysis suggests that the 501Y.V2 lineage emerged in early August (early July – end August 2020, 95% highest posterior density) in Nelson Mandela Bay. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.21.20248640v1.full-text

  10. "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved 1 June 2021. https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants

  11. TIMESOFINDIA.COM (2 June 2021). "Explained: Why WHO named Covid-19 variants first found in India as 'Kappa' and 'Delta'". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 June 2021. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/explained-why-who-named-covid-19-variants-found-in-india-as-kappa-and-delta/articleshow/83137667.cms

  12. "Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants". www.who.int. Retrieved 17 August 2022. https://www.who.int/activities/tracking-SARS-CoV-2-variants

  13. Corum, Jonathan; Zimmer, Carl (18 January 2021). "Inside the B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant (Updated Feb. 18, 2021)". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/health/coronavirus-mutations-B117-variant.html

  14. Corum, Jonathan; Zimmer, Carl (18 January 2021). "Inside the B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant (Updated Feb. 18, 2021)". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/health/coronavirus-mutations-B117-variant.html

  15. Corum, Jonathan; Zimmer, Carl (24 February 2021). "Coronavirus Variants and Mutations (Section: The B.1.351 Lineage)". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 25 February 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/health/coronavirus-variant-tracker.html

  16. "South Africa announces a new coronavirus variant". The New York Times. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020. N501Y...has been found in other countries, including the United Kingdom https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/world/south-africa-announces-a-new-coronavirus-variant.html

  17. Abdool Karim, Salim (19 December 2020). "The 2nd Covid-19 wave in South Africa: Transmissibility & a 501.V2 variant". Scribd. CAPRISA. p. 11. Retrieved 24 December 2020. https://www.scribd.com/document/488618010/Full-Presentation-by-SSAK-18-Dec

  18. For a list of the symbols used for the α-amino acids incorporated into protein under mRNA direction, see: "Nomenclature and Symbolism for Amino Acids and Peptides". IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature. 1983. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20081009023202/http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iupac/AminoAcid/AA1n2.html

  19. Statement of the WHO Working Group on COVID-19 Animal Models (WHO-COM) about the UK and South African SARS-CoV-2 new variants (PDF), World Health Organization, 22 December 2020, retrieved 23 December 2020 https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/blue-print/who-com-statement_new-variant_rev1.pdf?sfvrsn=b87c0ad8_3&download=true

  20. Lowe, Derek (22 December 2020). "The New Mutations". In The Pipeline. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 23 December 2020. I should note here that there's another strain in South Africa that is bringing on similar concerns. This one has eight mutations in the Spike protein, with three of them (K417N, E484K and N501Y) that may have some functional role. https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/new-mutations

  21. "Expert reaction to South African variant of SARS-CoV-2". Science Media Centre. Retrieved 26 December 2020. https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-south-african-variant-of-sars-cov-2-as-mentioned-by-matt-hancock-at-the-downing-street-press-briefing/

  22. Tegally, Houriiyah; Wilkinson, Eduan; Giovanetti, Marta; Iranzadeh, Arash; Fonseca, Vagner; Giandhari, Jennifer; et al. (2020). Emergence and rapid spread of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage with multiple spike mutations in South Africa (Report). doi:10.1101/2020.12.21.20248640. S2CID 229348551. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)

  23. "South Africa announces a new coronavirus variant". The New York Times. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020. N501Y...has been found in other countries, including the United Kingdom https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/world/south-africa-announces-a-new-coronavirus-variant.html

  24. "Novel mutation combination in spike receptor binding site" (Press release). GISAID. 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20210222193121/https://www.gisaid.org/references/gisaid-in-the-news/novel-variant-combination-in-spike-receptor-binding-site/

  25. Abdool Karim, Salim (19 December 2020). "The 2nd Covid-19 wave in South Africa: Transmissibility & a 501.V2 variant". Scribd. CAPRISA. p. 11. Retrieved 24 December 2020. https://www.scribd.com/document/488618010/Full-Presentation-by-SSAK-18-Dec

  26. "Expert reaction to South African variant of SARS-CoV-2, as mentioned by Matt Hancock at the Downing Street press briefing". Science Media Centre. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2020. The South African variant '501.V2' is characterised by N501Y, E484K and K417N mutations in the S protein – so it shares the N501Y mutation with the UK variant, but the other two mutations are not found in the UK variant. Similarly, the South African variant does not contain the 69-70del mutation that is found in the UK variant. https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-south-african-variant-of-sars-cov-2-as-mentioned-by-matt-hancock-at-the-downing-street-press-briefing/

  27. Knapton, Sarah (4 January 2021). "South African variant may evade vaccines and testing, warn scientists". www.telegraph.co.uk. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/04/south-african-variant-may-evade-vaccines-testing-warn-scientists/

  28. Carter, Sarah (4 January 2021). "COVID vaccines "might not" work as well on South African strain, scientists warn". CBS News. Johannesburg. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-new-strain-south-africa/

  29. "UK scientists worry vaccines may not protect against S.African coronavirus variant". Reuters. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-south-afri/uk-scientists-worry-vaccines-may-not-protect-against-safrican-coronavirus-variant-idUSKBN2990T3

  30. "UK scientists worry vaccines may not protect against S.African coronavirus variant". Reuters. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-south-afri/uk-scientists-worry-vaccines-may-not-protect-against-safrican-coronavirus-variant-idUSKBN2990T3

  31. "New virus mutation raises vaccine questions". France 24. Paris. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210113-new-virus-mutation-raises-vaccine-questions

  32. Callaway, Ewen (7 January 2021). "Could new COVID variants undermine vaccines? Labs scramble to find out". Nature. Retrieved 17 January 2021. Chief among those is another receptor-binding-domain mutation, called E484K, that de Oliveira's team has identified in the 501Y.V2 variant. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00031-0

  33. "South African coronavirus variant detected in reinfection case in Brazil". www.reuters.com. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-brazil-reinfection/south-african-coronavirus-variant-detected-in-reinfection-case-in-brazil-idUSKBN29D33S

  34. Weisblum, Yiska; Schmidt, Fabian; Zhang, Fengwen; Dasilva, Justin; Poston, Daniel; Lorenzi, Julio CC; et al. (20 October 2020). "Escape from neutralizing antibodies by SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variants". eLife. 9. doi:10.7554/eLife.61312. PMC 7723407. PMID 33112236. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7723407

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