Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing endemic have been characterised by the continuous emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants, each showing augmented antibody evasion due to mutations in the viral spike (S) protein. These new variants usually harbour a few S protein mutations, conferring a modest growth advantage within the population. However, a quantum leap of SARS-CoV-2 evolution was observed on two occasions. The first occurred at the end of 2021, when the highly mutated omicron variant (B.1.1.529) became dominant, showing unprecedented antibody evasion.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.