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What the N501Y Coronavirus Reinfection Means for the Pandemic
Addressing concerns on viral immune evasion, disease severity on reinfection, and antibody and vaccine efficacy.
The first proven coronavirus reinfection occurred in August 2020, where a 33-year-old man got reinfected with a different SARS-CoV-2 variant or strain with the D614G mutation. The detection of two distinct SARS-CoV-2 strains rules out the possibility of viral reactivation or persistence that may be caused by the same initial virus.
Soon, more reports of reinfections emerged, nearly all of which were due to the D614G mutation. Now, with the advent of N501Y mutation in the U.K. and South Africa, which has spread to over 20 more countries, more reinfection cases can be expected. In fact, the first one has already happened.
The first reinfection from N501Y mutation
The details are published in a paper titled “Confirmed Reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 Variant VOC-202012/01” in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal a few days ago. VOC-202012/01 means variant of concern-2020 December/#1. It also goes by other names: VUI-202012/01, B.1.1.7 lineage, or 20B/501Y.V1. Nonetheless, they are all defined by the N501Y mutation that increases viral infectivity and…
