Estimating Relative Abundance of 2 SARS-CoV-2 Variants through Wastewater Surveillance at 2 Large Metropolitan Sites, United States
Alexander T. Yu, Bridgette Hughes, Marlene K. Wolfe, Tomás M. León, Dorothea Duong, Angela Rabe, Lauren C. Kennedy, Sindhu Ravuri, Bradley J. White, Krista R. Wigginton, Alexandria B. Boehm, Duc J. Vugia
Abstract
B y November 2021, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), had claimed >5 million lives worldwide, including >700,000 in the United States (1-3). Since its emergence in late 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has mutated, resulting in some variants categorized by the World Health Organization as variants of concern (VOCs). VOCs have evidence of potential increased infectiousness, immune evasion, and clinical severity, and they have spread globally. Some VOCs, such as Alpha and Delta, have become the predominant strain at different times and regions (4,5). COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, or vaccines may have decreased effectiveness against VOCs (6,7). As of November 2021, VOCs in the United States included the Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), and Delta (B.1.617.2) variants (3).