Table 3.

Major SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Type	First detected in country	Variation in spike	Risk and impact on vaccine efficacy	References
VOC 202012/01 GRY (B.1.1.7)	U.K.	N501Y 144Y del 69/70 deletion P681H, D614G	Increased risk of death compared with other variants. ~50% increased transmission, Minimal impact on neutralization by convalescent and post-vaccination sera	(Arif, 2021; CDC, 2021b; Collier et al., 2021; Edara et al., 2021; Emary et al., 2021; Galloway et al., 2021; Muik et al., 2021; Ostrov, 2021; Planas et al., 2021; Shen et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021a; Wu et al., 2021)
VOC GH/501Y.V2 (B.1.351)	South Africa	Shares some mutations with B.1.1.7 K417N, E484K N501Y, D614G	No evidence to suggest that this variant has any impact on disease severity or impact on neutralizing antibodies.	(Kim et al., 2021; Planas et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021b; Zhou et al., 2021)
VOC GR/501Y.V3 (P.1)	Brazil, Japan	17 unique mutations, K417T, E484K, and N501Y	The emergence of this variant raises concerns of a potential increase in transmissibility or propensity for SARS-CoV-2 re-infection of individuals.	(CDC, 2021b; Dejnirattisai et al., 2021; Hoffmann et al., 2021)
VUI G/484K.V3 (B.1.525)	UK, Nigeria	E484K Q677H F888L	E484K mutation associated with potential immune escape.	(Jangra et al., 2021)
VOC G/452R.V3 (B.1.617+)	India	L452R, E484Q, D614G	Slightly reduced neutralization by post-vaccination sera	(Greaney et al., 2021a; Yadav et al., 2021)
VUI GH/452R.V1 (B.1.429)	USA	S13I, W152C, L452R, D614G	~20% increased transmissibility, Reduced neutralization by convalescent and postvaccination sera	(Deng et al., 2021)

Scientists are looking into how effective a vaccination might be in protecting persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 variants. The table displays the most common variants, countries first detected in, newly identified mutations in spike protein, and the risks they bring to public health (CDC, 2021a).