TY - JOUR
T1 - Hotspots for SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant spread
T2 - Lessons from New York City
AU - PSP Study Group
AU - Ramírez, Juan D.
AU - Castañeda, Sergio
AU - Ballesteros, Nathalia
AU - Muñoz, Marina
AU - Hernández, Matthew
AU - Banu, Radhika
AU - Shrestha, Paras
AU - Chen, Feng
AU - Shi, Huanzhi
AU - van Bakel, Harm
AU - Simon, Viviana
AU - Cordon-Cardo, Carlos
AU - Sordillo, Emilia M.
AU - Paniz-Mondolfi, Alberto E.
AU - Alshamarry, H.
AU - Alburquerque, B.
AU - Amoako, A.
AU - Aslam, S.
AU - Cognigni, C.
AU - Espinoza-Moraga, M.
AU - Farrugia, K.
AU - Gonzalez-Reiche, A. S.
AU - Khalil, Z.
AU - Laporte, M.
AU - Mena, I.
AU - Polanco, J.
AU - Rooker, A.
AU - Sominsky, L.
AU - van de Guchte, A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank and acknowledge all authors and laboratories around the globe contributing their genomes on GISAID. All used genomes in these analyses are listed on Table S1 . This publication is based on work supported by The Pershing Square Foundation for the Mount Sinai Health System COVID‐19 Saliva Testing Project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still challenging public health systems worldwide, particularly with the emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants with mutations that increase their transmissibility and immune escape. This is the case of the variant of concern Omicron that rapidly spread globally. Here, using epidemiological and genomic data we compared the situations in South Africa as the epicenter of emergence, United Kingdom, and with particular interest New York City. This rapid global dispersal from the place of first report reemphasizes the high transmissibility of Omicron, which needed only two weeks to become dominant in the United Kingdom and New York City. Our analyses suggest that as SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, global authorities must prioritize equity in vaccine access and continued genomic surveillance. Future studies are still needed to fully unveil the biological properties of Omicron, but what is certain is that vaccination, large-scale testing, and infection prevention efforts are the greatest arsenal against the COVID-19 pandemic.
AB - The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still challenging public health systems worldwide, particularly with the emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants with mutations that increase their transmissibility and immune escape. This is the case of the variant of concern Omicron that rapidly spread globally. Here, using epidemiological and genomic data we compared the situations in South Africa as the epicenter of emergence, United Kingdom, and with particular interest New York City. This rapid global dispersal from the place of first report reemphasizes the high transmissibility of Omicron, which needed only two weeks to become dominant in the United Kingdom and New York City. Our analyses suggest that as SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, global authorities must prioritize equity in vaccine access and continued genomic surveillance. Future studies are still needed to fully unveil the biological properties of Omicron, but what is certain is that vaccination, large-scale testing, and infection prevention efforts are the greatest arsenal against the COVID-19 pandemic.
KW - SARS coronavirus classification
KW - epidemiology
KW - genetic variability evolution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130289444&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/jmv.27691
DO - 10.1002/jmv.27691
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 35243662
AN - SCOPUS:85130289444
SN - 0146-6615
VL - 94
SP - 2911
EP - 2914
JO - Journal of Medical Virology
JF - Journal of Medical Virology
IS - 7
ER -