Which SARS-CoV-2 mutations can potentially evade antibody recognition?
To date, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to 191 countries and infected more than 95.62 million people. Of these, more than 2 million people have lost their lives. The United States remains the nation with the highest number of cases, reaching 24 million, while India and Brazil follow, with over 10.58 million and 8.51 million cases, respectively.
New strains of the virus have begun to emerge with increased infectivity – including the VUI 202012/01 in Britain and 501.V2 in South Africa. This has led to concerns among public health authorities that mutant strains may evade neutralizing antibodies produced by convalescent individuals as well as the present vaccine candidates.