SARS-CoV-2 genomics update
Trevor Bedford (@trvrb)
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center / Howard Hughes Medical Institute
16 May 2023
Viruses and Vaccines Seminar Series
Brotman Baty Institute
Slides at: bedford.io/talks
Population immunity has driven a dramatic shift in death toll
But this immunity is now driving evolution of the virus
In which new variants emerge that escape from existing population immunity and spread rapidly
Mutations at spike S1 propel escape from population immunity
These mutations are continuing just as quickly post-Omicron
And are accruing much more rapidly than other endemic viruses
In this light, mutations at 478 and 486 are the latest salvo in an ongoing war, with XBB.1.16 currently the most successful lineage
XBB.1.16 is now rapidly displacing circulating viruses
XBB.1.16 shows a 20-30% growth advantage over even XBB.1.5
Acknowledgements
SARS-CoV-2 genomic epi: Data producers from all over the world, GISAID and the Nextstrain team
Bedford Lab:
John Huddleston,
James Hadfield,
Katie Kistler,
Thomas Sibley,
Jover Lee,
Cassia Wagner,
Miguel Paredes,
Nicola Müller,
Marlin Figgins,
Victor Lin,
Jennifer Chang,
Allison Li,
Eslam Abousamra,
Donna Modrell,
Cécile Tran Kiem
