SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern as of 15 March 2024

Variant classification serves as an important communication tool for alerting EU/EEA countries about the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with concerning properties likely to impact the epidemiological situation in the EU/EEA.

ECDC utilises three categories of variant classification to communicate increasing levels of concern about a new or emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant: variant under monitoring (VUM), variant of interest (VOI) and variant of concern (VOC). Classification criteria and recommended Member state actions are available here:

ECDC variant classification criteria and recommended Member State actions

New evidence is regularly assessed on variants detected through epidemic intelligence, genomic horizon scanning, or other scientific sources. If a decision is made to add, remove, or change the category for any variant, the tables are updated to reflect this change. The tables are regularly sent for consultation to ECDC and WHO Regional Office for Europe’s joint virus characterisation working group.

Variant surveillance data, including the distribution of VOC and VOI variant proportions in the EU/EEA, is presented as part of the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary (ERVISS).

 

Useful links

To review a timeline of variant classification decisions, visit our change log.

Following classification of a VOC or VOI, multiple closely related sub-lineages may emerge. To facilitate reporting of variant detections by countries to TESSy, a table listing sub-lineages assigned to VOCs and VOIs as of 2 February 2024 is available here

An additional table that includes sub-lineages assigned to VUMs as of 2 February 2024 is available here.

 

Description of the tables

The tables include:

Category: variant of concern (VOC), variant of interest (VOI), or variant under monitoring (VUM).

  1. WHO label: As of 31st May 2021, WHO proposed labels for global SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants of interest to be used alongside the scientific nomenclature in communications about variants to the public. This list includes variants on WHO’s global list of VOC and VOI, and is updated as WHO’s list changes.
  2. Lineage and additional mutations: the variant designation specified by one or more Pango lineages and any additional characteristic spike protein changes. An alternate description may be used if the variant is not easy to describe using this nomenclature. For updated information on Pango lineages and definition of lineages and for instructions on how to suggest new lineages, visit the Pango lineages website. Each lineage in then table is linked to the respective lineage page on the Pango lineages website.
  3. Country first detected: only present if there is moderate confidence in the evidence relating to the first country of detection.
  4. Spike mutations of interest: not all spike protein amino acid changes are included – this is not a full reference for assignment of the variants. It includes changes to spike protein residues 319-541 (receptor binding domain) and 613-705 (the S1 part of the S1/S2 junction and a small stretch on the S2 side), and any additional unusual changes specific to the variant.
  5. Year and month first detected: as reported in the GISAID EpiCoV database. This can be adjusted backwards in time if new retrospective detections are made.
  6. Evidence concerning properties in three different categories:
    • Transmissibility
    • Immunity
    • Infection severity
      Each category is annotated as increased, reduced, similar, unclear, or no evidence depending on the currently available evidence. Increased or reduced means that there is evidence demonstrating that the property is different enough for the variant compared to previously circulating variants that it is likely to have an impact on the epidemiological situation in the EU/EEA. Similar means that there is evidence that demonstrates that the property is not different enough for this variant compared to previously circulating variants that it is unlikely to have an impact. Unclear means that the current evidence is preliminary or contradictory enough to make the assessment uncertain. No evidence means that no evidence has yet been evaluated for this category. The evidence is further annotated with v or m to indicate whether the evidence is available for the variant itself (v) or for mutations associated with the variant (m).
  7. Transmission in the EU/EEA: categorised as dominant, community, outbreak(s), and sporadic/travel. The categories are qualitative, and the assessment is based on surveillance data collected in TESSy, GISAID EpiCoV data, epidemic intelligence data, and direct communications with the affected countries.

 

Variants of Concern (VOC)

As of 3 March 2023, ECDC has de-escalated BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 from its list of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC), as these parental lineages are no longer circulating. ECDC will continue to categorise and report on specific SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineages in circulation that are relevant to the epidemiological situation.

There are currently no SARS-CoV-2 variants meeting the VOC criteria.

Variants of Interest (VOI)

WHO labelLineage + additional mutationsCountry first detected (community)Spike mutations of interestYear and month first detectedImpact on transmissibilityImpact on immunityImpact on severityTransmission in EU/EEA
OmicronXBB.1.5-like (a)United StatesN460K, S486P, F490Sn/aSimilar to Baseline (1, 2)Reduced (v) (1, 3, 5)Similar to Baseline (4)Community
OmicronBA.2.86n/aI332V, D339H, R403K, V445H, G446S, N450D, L452W, N481K, 483del, E484K, F486Pn/aBaseline (6)Baseline (6-8)Baseline Dominant

a: Monitoring an umbrella of SARS-CoV-2 lineages that have similar Spike protein profiles and characterised by a specific set of mutations (S:Q183E, S:F486P and S:F490S). Given the low level of circulation for the VOIs 'XBB.1.5-like' and 'XBB.1.5-like+F456L', they are re-merged into a single VOI designation 'XBB.1.5-like'. For the full list of lineages, please look at the table here.

All sub-lineages of the listed lineages are also included in the variant

 

Variants under monitoring

WHO labelLineage + additional mutationsCountry first detected (community)Spike mutations of interestYear and month first detectedImpact on transmissibilityImpact on immunityImpact on severityTransmission in EU/EEA
OmicronBA.2.87.1South Africa(x) (b)2023 SeptemberNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceNot Detected

 

x: G75D,S98F,V126A,W152L,R190S,K417T,K444N,V445G,L452M,N481K,V642G,K679R,S691P,T791I,Y796H,D936G

b: Preliminary mutations based on a limited number of genomes

 

 

De-escalated variants

These additional variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been de-escalated based on at least one the following criteria: (1) the variant is no longer circulating, (2) the variant has been circulating for a long time without any impact on the overall epidemiological situation, (3) scientific evidence demonstrates that the variant is not associated with any concerning properties.

WHO labelLineage + additional mutationsCountry first detected (community)Spike mutations of interestYear and month first detectedImpact on transmissibilityImpact on immunityImpact on severityRationale for de-escalation
AlphaB.1.1.7United KingdomN501Y, D614G, P681HSeptember 2020Increased (v) (9)Similar Increased (v) (10, 11)Drastically reduced circulation in the EU/EEA following the emergence of Delta; little evidence of impact on vaccine induced immunity

 

n/a

B.1.1.7+E484KUnited KingdomE484K, N501Y, D614G, P681HDecember 2020Increased (v) (9)Increased (v) (12, 13)Increased (v) (10)Very low levels of circulation in the EU/EEA
EpsilonB.1.427/B.1.429USAL452R, D614GSeptember 2020Unclear (14)Increased (v) (14)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA and available data indicating that vaccines and treatments are effective against such variant
n/aB.1.616(c)FranceV483A, D614G, H655Y, G669SFebruary 2021Detection (c) (15)No evidenceNo evidenceNot detected since 2021-04-23 (16)
EtaB.1.525NigeriaE484K, D614G, Q677HDecember 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (12, 17)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
ThetaP.3The PhilippinesE484K, N501Y, D614G, P681HJanuary 2021Increased (m) (9)Increased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
KappaB.1.617.1IndiaL452R, E484Q, D614G, P681RDecember 2020Increased (v) (18)Increased (v) (19-22)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.620Unclear (b)S477N, E484K, D614G, P681HFebruary 2021No evidenceIncreased (m) (12, 23)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.617.3IndiaL452R, E484Q, D614G, P681RFebruary 2021Increased (m) ((9)1)Increased (m) (12, 14)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.214.2Unclear2Q414K, N450K, ins214TDR, D614GDecember 2020No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aA.23.1+E484KUnited KingdomV367F, E484K, Q613HDecember 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aA.27Unclear (b)L452R, N501Y, A653V, H655YDecember 2020Increased (m) (9)Increased (m) (14)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aA.28Unclear (b)E484K, N501T, H655YDecember 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aC.16Unclear (b)L452R, D614GOctober 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.351+P384LSouth AfricaP384L, K417N, E484K, N501Y, D614G, A701VDecember 2020Increased (v) (24)Increased (v) (25, 26)Unclear (27)No longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.351+E516QUnclear (b)K417N, E484K, N501Y, E516Q, D614G, A701VJanuary 2021Increased (v) (24)Increased (v) (25, 26)Unclear (27)No longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.1.7+L452RUnited KingdomL452R, N501Y, D614G, P681HJanuary 2021Increased (v) (9)Increased (m) (14)Increased (v) (10)No longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.1.7+S494PUnited KingdomS494P, N501Y, D614G, P681HJanuary 2021Increased (v) (9)Increased (m) (28)Increased (v) (10)No longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
IotaB.1.526USA E484K, D614G, A701VDecember 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.526.1USAL452R, D614GOctober 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (14)No evidenceLineage withdrawn from Pango
n/aB.1.526.2USAS477N, D614GDecember 2020No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceLineage withdrawn from Pango
ZetaP.2BrazilE484K, D614GJanuary 2021No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.1.519MexicoT478K, D614GNovember 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (14)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aAV.1United KingdomN439K, E484K, D614G, P681HMarch 2021No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aAT.1Russian FederationE484K, D614G, N679K, ins679GIALJanuary 2021No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aC.36+L452REgyptL452R, D614G, Q677HDecember 2020No evidenceIncreased (m) (14)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aP.1+P681HItalyD614G, E484K, H655Y, K417T, N501Y, P681HFebruary 2021No evidenceUnclear (29, 30)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
MuB.1.621ColombiaR346K, E484K, N501Y, D614G, P681HJanuary 2021Increased (m) (9)Increased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
LambdaC.37PeruL452Q, F490S, D614GDecember 2020No evidenceIncreased (v) (31, 32)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aAY.4.2United KingdomL452R, T478K, D614G, P681R, A222V, Y145HJune 2021Increased (v) (33)Similar (v) (33, 34)Similar (v) (33)Delta sub-lineages will continue to be monitored within Delta VOC
n/aB.1.1.318Unclear (b)E484K, D614G, P681HJanuary 2021No evidenceIncreased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.617.2 + K417NUnited KingdomL452R, T478K, D614G, P681R, K417NJune 2021No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDelta sub-lineages will continue to be monitored within Delta VOC
n/aC.1.2South AfricaD614G, E484K, H655Y, N501Y, N679K, Y449HJune 2021Increased (m) (9)Increased (m) (12)No evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.617.2 + E484X (d)IndiaL452R, T478K, D614G, P681R, E484X (d)April 2021No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDelta sub-lineages will continue to be monitored within Delta VOC
n/aB.1.617.2 + Q613HIndiaL452R, T478K, D614G, P681R, Q613HApril 2021No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDelta sub-lineages will continue to be monitored within Delta VOC
n/aB.1.617.2 + Q677HIndiaL452R, T478K, D614G, P681R, Q677HApril 2021No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDelta sub-lineages will continue to be monitored within Delta VOC
BetaB.1.351South AfricaK417N, E484K, N501Y, D614G, A701VSeptember 2020Increased (v) (24)Increased (v) (25, 26)Increased (v) (11, 27)No longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
GammaP.1BrazilK417T, E484K, N501Y, D614G, H655YDecember 2020Increased (v) (35)Increased (v) (36) Increased (v) (11)No longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aB.1.640The Republic of CongoD614G, F490R, N394S, N501Y, P681H, R346S, Y449N, 137−145deSeptember 2021No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceNo longer detected or detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
n/aXFUnited KingdomOmicron-likeJanuary 2022No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceNo longer detected.
n/aXDFranceNTD Delta-like; remaining Omicron-likeJanuary 2022No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceNo longer detected.
DeltaB.1.617.2IndiaL452R, T478K, D614G, P681RDecember 2020Increased (v) (37)Increased (v) (38-40)Increased (v) (39, 41)Detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronBA.1South Africa and Botswana(x)November 2021Increased (v) (42, 43)Increased (v)(44-46)Reduced (v) (47-49)Detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronBA.3South Africa(z)November 2021No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronBA.2 + L452Xn/aL452Xn/aNo evidenceIncreased (50)No evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronXAKGermany June 2022No evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceNo longer detected.
OmicronB.1.1.529 + R346Xn/aR346Xn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceInstead of mutational proxies, tracking by lineages (majorly BQ.1 and BF.7)
OmicronB.1.1.529 + K444X, N460Xn/aK444X, N460Xn/aNo evidenceIncreased (m)(51)No evidenceInstead of mutational proxies, tracking by lineages (majorly BQ.1)
OmicronB.1.1.529 + N460X, F490Xn/aN460X, F490Xn/aNo evidenceIncreased (m)(51)No evidenceInstead of mutational proxies, tracking by lineages (majorly BA.2.75 and XBB)
OmicronBA.2.3.20n/aK444R, L452M, N460Kn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronBF.7n/aR346T, F486Vn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronBA.2South Africa(y)November 2021Increased (v)(42, 52)Increased (v) (46)Reduced (v)(53, 54)Parental lineages are no longer circulating, ECDC monitoring sub-lineages in circulation
OmicronBA.4South AfricaL452R, F486V, R493QJanuary 2022No evidenceIncreased(50, 55)No evidenceParental lineages are no longer circulating, ECDC monitoring sub-lineages in circulation
OmicronBA.5South AfricaL452R, F486V, R493QFebruary 2022No evidenceIncreased(50, 55)Unclear (56)Parental lineages are no longer circulating, ECDC monitoring sub-lineages in circulation
OmicronXBC (x)n/aN440K, F486Pn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected (a)
OmicronBN.1n/aR346T, K356T, F490S,n/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected (a)
OmicronXAYn/aF486Pn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected (a)
OmicronBQ.1n/aK444T, N460Kn/aIncreased (5)Increased (2, 3, 61-63)Unclear (64)Detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronXBB (z)n/aN460K, F490Sn/aIncreased (1)Increased(57-61)Unclear(62)Detected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronCH.1.1n/aK444T, L452Rn/aIncreased (1, 63)Increased (v) (57, 58, 60, 64)No evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronXBB.1.16n/aE180V, T478R, F486Pn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected (a)
OmicronBA.2.75IndiaW152R, F157L, I210V, G257S, D339H, G446S, N460K, Q493 (reversion)May 2022Unclear (65)Similar to Baseline (57, 58, 66)No evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronDV.7.1n/aK444T, L452R, L455Fn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA
OmicronXBB.1.5-like + L455F + F456Ln/aL455F, F456L, N460K, S486P, F490Sn/aNo evidenceNo evidenceNo evidenceDetected at extremely low levels in the EU/EEA

x: A67V, Δ69-70, T95I, G142D, Δ143-145, N211I, Δ212, ins215EPE, G339D, S371L, S373P, S375F, K417N, N440K, G446S, S477N, T478K, E484A, Q493R, G496S, Q498R, N501Y, Y505H, T547K, D614G, H655Y, N679K, P681H, N764K, D796Y, N856K, Q954H, N969K, L981F

y: G142D, N211I, Δ212, V213G, G339D, S371F, S373P, S375F, T376A, D405N, R408S, K417N, N440K, S477N, T478K, E484A, Q493R, Q498R, N501Y, Y505H, D614G, H655Y, N679K, P681H, N764K, D796Y, Q954H, N969K

z: A67V, Δ69-70, Δ143-145, N211I, Δ212, G339D, S371F, S373P, S375F, D405N, K417N, N440K, G446S, S477N, T478K, E484A, Q493R, Q498R, N501Y, Y505H, D614G, H655Y, N679K, P681H, D796Y, Q954H, N969K

n/a: not applicable, no WHO label has been assigned to this variant at this time

All sub-lineages of the listed lineages are also included in the variant, e.g., B.1.429.1 is included in B.1.427/B.1.429 as it is a sub-lineage of B.1.429.

(a) No assessment of transmission is given for variants in the monitoring category, only detected/not detected.

(b) The earliest detections from several different countries are close in time and there is no clearly demonstrated travel link to a specific country that explains the detections.

(c) The property of concern for this variant was the fact that there are reports of difficulties associated with detecting it in upper respiratory tract samples. These difficulties were not caused by primer-template mismatch but rather by the virus not being present in sufficient quantities in the upper respiratory tract.

(d) Any amino acid substitution

 

Geographic scope of the tables

The tables are based on genomic, phenotypic, and epidemiological evidence available on a global scale, but focus on the potential impact for the European region. For this reason, the list may deviate slightly from the global variants of concern and interest list and labels produced by WHO and published in the WHO weekly epidemiological update.

More on this topic

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