SARS-CoV-2 variant classifications and definitions

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.). Division of Viral Diseases.
• Description:
  Updated May 12, 2021
  
  • Genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been emerging and circulating around the world throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  • Viral mutations and variants in the United States are routinely monitored through sequence-based surveillance, laboratory studies, and epidemiological investigations.
  
  • A US government interagency group developed a Variant Classification scheme that defines three classes of SARS-CoV-2 variants:
  
  o Variant of Interest
  
  o Variant of Concern
  
  o Variant of High Consequence
  
  • The B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, B.1.427, and B.1.429 variants circulating in the United States are classified as variants of concern
  
  Viruses constantly change through mutation. A variant has one or more mutations that differentiate it from other variants in circulation. As expected, multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been documented in the United States and globally throughout this pandemic. To inform local outbreak investigations and understand national trends, scientists compare genetic differences between viruses to identify variants and how they are related to each other.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Betacoronavirus Coronavirus Infections COVID-19 Epidemiological Monitoring Molecular Epidemiology Pneumonia, Viral SARS-CoV-2/genetics
• Document Type:
  Webpage
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:aca0b440e5906f2ea968a02e353bd281e05c8176f82d951be4d5441695acf2eaeb515e040f55c7c49f9ff535d0d2783b0f4d80cd6ba3305ce5cf5919697d90ea
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/106107/cdc_106107_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 204.26 KB ]