“As of 7th Jan 2021, 45 countries had reported the presence of B.1.1.7 and 13 countries had reported B.1.351/501Y.V2. B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 genome sequences were available for 28 and 8 countries, respectively.
Although some countries report increases in the relative frequency of B.1.1.7, genome sequencing efforts vary considerably. Potential targeting of sequencing towards travellers from the UK could bias frequency estimates upwards and differing genome deposition policies and delays may also skew reporting estimates. The time between the initial collection date of a new variant sample in a country and the first availability of a corresponding virus genome on GISAID was, on average, 12 days (range 1-71).”
