The global epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their mutational immune escape

During the COVID-19 pandemic, genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been emerging and spreading around the world. Several SARS-CoV-2 endemic variants were found in United Kingdom, South Africa, Japan, and India between 2020 and April 2021. Studies have shown that many SARS-CoV-2 variants are more infectious than early wild strain and produce immune escape. These SARS-CoV-2 variants have brought new challenges to the prevention and control of COVID-19. This review summarizes and analyzes the biological characteristics of different amino acid mutations and the epidemic characteristics and immune escape of different SARS-CoV-2 variants. We hope to provide scientific reference for the monitoring, prevention, and control measures of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and the development strategy of the second-generation vaccine.