Combining genomic and epidemiological data to compare the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 lineages.

ABSTRACT: Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants have shaped the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health discourse around effective control measures. Evaluating the public health threat posed by a new variant is essential for appropriately adapting response efforts when community transmission is detected. However, this assessment requires that a true comparison can be made between the new variant and its predecessors because factors other than the virus genotype may influence spread and transmission. In this study, we develop a framework that integrates genomic surveillance data to estimate the relative effective reproduction number (R _t ) of co-circulating lineages. We use Connecticut, a state in the northeastern United States in which the SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.1.7 and B.1.526

SUBMITTER: Petrone ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8259915 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature