SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Rhode Island #MMPMID34279520
Kantor R; Novitsky V; Carpenter-Azevedo K; Howison M; Manne A; Darpolor JK; Bobenchik A; Tripathi A; Huard RC; King E
R I Med J (2013) 2021[Sep]; 104 (7): 16-20 PMID34279520show ga
COVID-19 is a worldwide public health emergency caused by SARS-CoV-2. Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 emerging variants is important for pandemic monitoring and informing public health responses. Through an interstate academic-public health partnership, we established Rhode Island's capacity to sequence SARS-CoV-2 genomes and created a systematic surveillance program to monitor the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the state. We describe circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Rhode Island; provide a timeline for the emerging and expanding contribution of variants of concern (VOC) and variants of interest (VOI), from their first introduction to their eventual predominance over other lineages; and outline the frequent identification of known adaptively beneficial spike protein mutations that appear to have independently arisen in non-VOC/non-VOI lineages. Overall, the described Rhode Island- centric genomic surveillance initiative provides a valuable perspective on SARS-CoV-2 in the state and contributes data of interest for future epidemiological studies and state-to-state comparisons.
R+I+Med+J+(2013) 2021 ; 104 (7): 16-20
