Virological Characterization of Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: Interactions of Viral Load, Antibody Status, and B.1.1.7 Infection (original) (raw)

“…During the time of our sample and data collection, there were two major variants arising in the New York City metro area constituting about two thirds of all cases, B.1.1.7, which was first reported in the UK 45 , and B.1.526, which arose in New York City around December of 2020 24,25 . B.1.1.7 was deemed a variant of concern by the WHO and CDC and was associated with higher viral loads in infected individuals 40,41 , enhanced epidemiological spread [45][46][47] , an extended window of acute infection 48 , less effective innate and adaptive immune clearance 49 , and increased death rates in elderly patients and/or individuals with comorbidities [50][51][52][53] . The B.1.1.7 variant, e.g., through the RBD N501Y mutation but also through NTD deletions, acquired an enhanced affinity to ACE2, higher infectivity and virulence [54][55][56][57] , while maintaining sensitivity to neutralization though with slightly impaired nAb titers 54,[58][59][60] .…”