Global dispersal and increasing frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant D614G are suggestive of a selective advantage but may also be due to a random founder effect. We investigate the hypothesis for positive selection of spike D614G in the United Kingdom using more than 25,000 whole genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences. ⋯ We do not find any indication that patients infected with the spike 614G variant have higher COVID-19 mortality or clinical severity, but 614G is associated with higher viral load and younger age of patients. Significant differences in growth and size of 614G phylogenetic clusters indicate a need for continued study of this variant.
Erik Volz, Verity Hill, John T McCrone, Anna Price, David Jorgensen, Áine O'Toole, Joel Southgate, Robert Johnson, Ben Jackson, Fabricia F Nascimento, Sara M Rey, Samuel M Nicholls, Rachel M Colquhoun, Ana... more da Silva Filipe, James Shepherd, David J Pascall, Rajiv Shah, Natasha Jesudason, Kathy Li, Ruth Jarrett, Nicole Pacchiarini, Matthew Bull, Lily Geidelberg, Igor Siveroni, COG-UK Consortium, Ian Goodfellow, Nicholas J Loman, Oliver G Pybus, David L Robertson, Emma C Thomson, Andrew Rambaut, and Thomas R Connor. less
MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK. Electronic address: e.volz@imperial.ac.uk.