UK government poised to declare Delta coronavirus B.1.617 a Variant of Concern or VOC

The UK government is thought to have detected more than 40 clusters of the Indian Covid variant B.1.617 in the UK, and is on the verge of declaring it a “variant of concern”.

 More...

France: Breton variant B.1.616 – 37 cases & 16 deaths with just 9% of cases detected by first RT-PCR coronavirus test

As of 04/21, 37 confirmed cases of infection with the 20C / 655Y [B.1.616] variant have been reported in France, including 34 in Brittany and 3 in other regions in people linked to the area of ​​circulation of the virus in Brittany (made up of several urban communities around Lannion, Guingamp, Saint-Brieuc, Paimpol).  More...

UK SAGE: Lab studies suggest that the N501Y spike protein mutation increases binding to rat and mouse ACE2 leading to viral replication

A report issued by the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) found the likelihood that a variant of concern (VOC) that has arisen in humans could infect a rodent and then spread among the animals is high.  More...

NEJM: In two coronavirus vaccine breakthrough cases “examination of the SARS-CoV-2 sequences revealed that both patients were infected with variant viruses” .. “neither sequence precisely fit any known clade”

Examination of the SARS-CoV-2 sequences revealed that both patients were infected with variant viruses.  More...