12/02/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/01/2021 19:12
Variant of Concern (VOC)
A variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (for example, increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.
Possible attributes of a variant of concern:
In addition to the possible attributes of a variant of interest
Variants of concern might require one or more appropriate public health actions, such as notification to WHO under the International Health Regulations, reporting to CDC, local or regional efforts to control spread, increased testing, or research to determine the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments against the variant. Based on the characteristics of the variant, additional considerations may include the development of new diagnostics or the modification of vaccines or treatments.
Current variants of concern in the United States that are being closely monitored and characterized are listed below. This table will be updated when a new variant of concern is identified.
(*) = detected in some sequences but not all
a - Phylogenetic Assignment of Named Global Outbreak (PANGO) Lineages is software tool developed by members of the Rambaut Lab. The associated web application was developed by the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance in South Cambridgeshire and is intended to implement the dynamic nomenclature of SARS-CoV-2 lineages, known as the PANGO nomenclature.
b - Nextstrain, a collaboration between researchers in Seattle, USA and Basel, Switzerland, provides open-source tools for visualizing the genetics of outbreaks. The goal is to support public health surveillance by facilitating understanding of the spread and evolution of pathogens.
Characteristics of Selected SARS-CoV-2 Variants
WHO Label: Delta
Pango Lineage: B.1.617.2 and AY lineages(Pango lineageexternal icon )a
Spike Protein Substitutions: T19R, (V70F*), T95I, G142D, E156-, F157-, R158G, (A222V*), (W258L*), (K417N*), L452R, T478K, D614G, P681R, D950N
Nextstrain clade (Nextstrainexternal icon )b: 21A/S:478K
First Identified: India
Attributes:
WHO Label: Omicron
Pango Lineage: B.1.1.529 (Pango lineageexternal icon )a
Spike Protein Substitutions: A67V, del69-70, T95I, del142-144, Y145D, del211, L212I, ins214EPE, G339D, S371L, S373P, S375F, K417N, N440K, G446S, S477N, T478K, E484A, Q493R, G496S, Q498R, N501Y, Y505H, T547K, D614G, H655Y, N679K, P681H, N764K, D796Y, N856K, Q954H, N969K, L981F
Nextstrain clade (Nextstrainexternal icon )b: 21K
First Identified: South Africa
Attributes:
Variant of High Consequence (VOHC)
A VOHC has clear evidence that prevention measures or medical countermeasures (MCMs) have significantly reduced effectiveness relative to previously circulating variants.
Possible attributes of a variant of high consequence:
In addition to the possible attributes of a variant of concern
A variant of high consequence would require notification to WHO under the International Health Regulations, reporting to CDC, an announcement of strategies to prevent or contain transmission, and recommendations to update treatments and vaccines.
Currently, no SARS-CoV-2 variants are designated as VOHC.